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4 


\ 


I 


V 


4 


i 


» 


. 


'  • 

1 


THE 


W  RITINGS 


OP 


JESSE  J.  G  O  B  E  N  , 


TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED  THE  LETTERS  OF 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE  AND  WILLIAM  H.  DAEXALL. 


[G.  Beebe’s  Sons,  Printers,  Middletown,  X.  Y. 


3i$b~  lY/aolSi 

3535  « 


P  K  E  F  A  C  E  . 

Elbeti  CtGBE^s  was  born  of  poor  parentage,  and  deprived 
of  the  opportunity  of  obtaining*  anything*  more  than  an  ordi¬ 
nary  common  school  education  of  the  backwoods ;  yet  he  was 
a  boy  of  strong*  mind  and  intellect,  and  very  firm  in  his  con¬ 
victions.  He  was  raised  a  strictly  moral  and  honest  boy, 
and  instructed  by  his  parents  in  the  habits  of  industry  and 
economy  ^  but  having*  been  raised  and  lived  mostly  in  a  wil¬ 
derness  country,  and  in  his  early  life  amongst  the  Indians 
and  savage  beasts,  his  opportunities  were  very  meager.  Yet 
lie  was  of  an  industrious  turn  of  mind,  energetic  in  business, 
and  by  habits  of  industry  and  economy  he  made  a  comfort¬ 
able  living  for  his  family.  Notwithstanding,  after  he  com¬ 
menced  preaching,  he  spent  more  time  laboring  in  the  gospel 
field  than  most  ministers  of  the  gospel,  yet  he  went  without 
fee  or  reward  from  men,  relying*  on  the  promise  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  would  be  with  him  and  sustain  him  by  his  grace. 

The  reader  will  find  his  life,  as  written  by  himself,  to  be 
very  entertaining,  especially  to  those  who  have  been  regene¬ 
rated  and  bom  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Though  his  body  has 
passed  away  by  the  cold  hand  of  death,  yet  his  spirit  lives 
in  and  with  that  God  who  gave  it,  and  he  will  still  live  in 
the  minds  of  his  brethren  and  sisters  in  the  Lord;  and  I 
trust  that  we  may  all  meet  him  on  the  bank  of  sweet  deliver¬ 
ance,  and  join  in  the  general  assembly  of  the  church  of  the 


IV 


PREFACE. 


First-born  in  that  haven  of  rest  where  the  wicked  will  cease 
to  trouble  and  the  saints  be  forever  at  rest. 

We  will  let  these  lines  suffice  for  a  Preface,  as  his  life, 
written  by  himself,  will  be  more  interesting  than  anything 
we  can  say. 

William  H.  Darnall. 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WEITINGS. 

When  tlie  memoirs  of  a  man  are  preserved  in  book 
form,  the  reader  is  very  apt  to  inquire  of  what  stock  or  blood 
was  he.  To  answer  this  inquiry  I  have  learned  that  my 
grandmother  was  a  Welsh  lady.  Her  maiden  name  was 
Bebecca  Braudy,  and  she  married  an  Irishman  whose  name 
was  Billy  Goben.  They  had  eight  children — four  girls  and 
four  boys.  The  names  of  the  girls  were  Peggy,  Betsey,  Ee¬ 
becca  and  Katy.  The  boys’  names  were  Joseph,  James, 
Billy  and  John.  My  father’s  name  was  James.  My  grand¬ 
father  was  a  Bevolutionary  soldier,  who  served  through  the 
seven  years  of  war.  The  above  marriage  took  place  in  the 
year  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  My  other  grand¬ 
mother  I  can  say  but  little  about.  She  died  before  my  recol¬ 
lection.  I  do  not  remember  her  father’s  nor  mother’s  names. 
Her  given  name  was  Susie.  She  married  I.  John  Cline. 
They  were  both  of  American  Dutch  descent.  They  had  ten 
children — four  girls  and  six  boys.  The  names  of  the  girls 
were  Betsey,  Nancy,  Susie  and  Buth.  Betsey  was  my  mother. 
The  boys’  names  were  John,  Jacob,  Jesse,  Peter,  Aaron  and 
Levi. 

From  the  above  the  reader  may  learn  that  Welsh,  Irish 
and  Dutch  blood  mingle  in  my  veins.  All  the  above  ances¬ 
try  were  early  settlers  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  where  the 
savage  foes  and  wild  beasts  were  numerous.  I  have  often 
sat  spell  bound  to  hear  my  mother  tell  of  the  many  sore 


6 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’s  WRITINGS. 


trials,  deprivations,  narrow  escapes  and  bloody  conflicts  that 
took  place ;  and  fear  would  so  overcome  me  that  I  would  be 
afraid  to  move,  or  even  draw  my  breath,  so  as  to  be  heard. 
So  unsafe  were  the  emigrants  that  some  were  shot  while 
plowing  in  their  fields,  and  others  at  their  springs.  In  fine, 
they  had  to  unite,  and  some  stand  guard  while  others  plowed. 
They  dug  ditches  from  the  forts  to  the  springs,  and  covered 
them  with  slabs  and  dirt. 

But  to  return  more  fully  to  my  narrative.  My  father 
and  mother  were  united  in  marriage,  but  I  do  not  remember 
the  date.  They  both  resided  in  Shelby  County,  Kentucky, 
and  had  ten  children.  The  first  five  were  still-born,  and  they 
despaired  of  ever  having  a  living  child;  but  the  next  one 
lived,  and-  thev  called,  her  name  Susie.  The  next  was  a 
daughter,  and  they  called  her  Malinda.  My  parents  then 
moved  into  Jefferson  County,  Kentucky,  eight  miles  below 
Man’s  Lick,  and  there  I  was  born,  December  17th,  1808. 
Three  and  a  half  years  after  my  birth  another  son  was  born, 
whose  name  was  Alfred  Allen.  My  youngest  brother’s  name 
was  Fieklen,  but  I  do  not  remember  the  date  of  his  birth. 

Having  now  given  a  short  history  of  my  lineal  descent, 
I  wish  to  make  a  few  remarks  before  taking  up  my  own  his¬ 
tory,  that  the  reader  may  form  some  idea  why  I  have  com¬ 
menced  this  historv,  which  is  to  me  a  Herculean  task. 

First,  it  has  been  my  meditation  by  day  and  by  night 
for  more  than  ten  vears  to  leave  some  testimony  of  the  won- 

\j  ft/ 

der- working  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  to  me,  feeling  im¬ 
pressed  that  I  could  not  die  in  peace  if  I  neglected  it ;  and 
just  as  often  I  have  concluded  that  1  could  not,  and  therefore 
would  not  make  the  attempt ;  for  I  had  waited  until  the 
burden  of  three  score  and  fourteen  years  was  upon  me,  with 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN7S  WRITINGS. 


7 


feeble  nerves  and  a  depreciated  talent,  which  was  never 
great.  Therefore  to  give  a  correct  account  of  seventy  years 
would  be  next  to  impossible,  for  I  have  kept  no  written 
account ;  but  being  fully  persuaded  that  I  have  no  other 
motive  but  to  glorify  God,  and  to  at  least  edify  some,  I  com¬ 
menced,  not  knowing  what  the  issue  will  be. 

As  above  stated,  I  was  born  December  17th,  1808.  My 
earliest  recollection  is  the  war  of  1812.  The  Indians  con¬ 
tinued  to  commit  depredations  on  the  settlers,  until  there 
was  a  call  for  volunteers,  and  my  father  volunteered.  His 
house  was  a  point  where  the  neighborhood  volunteers  met, 
and  their  wives  came  with  them.  I  distinctly  remember, 
when  the  men  started,  seeing  their  wives  standing  in  differ¬ 
ent  places  weeping,  doubtless  meditating  on  the  perils  of 
war.  My  father  was  gone  three  months,  in  which  time  the 
army  destroyed  a  number  of  towns  and  cut  all  the  Indians7 
corn,  which  gave  peace  to  the  settlers. 

The  next  circumstance  in  the  history  of  my  life  was,  has 
been  and  is  so  dark,  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  that 
I  at  first  thought  I  would  say  nothing  about  it;  but  the  sec¬ 
ond  thought  occurred  that  though  it  was  involved  in  mys¬ 
tery,  yet  it  was  as  true  as  anything  that  I  had  written  or 
would  write.  Hence  I  give  it  in  detail,  leaving  the  reader  to 
draw  his  own  conclusions. 

After  the  Indian  war,  in  the  year  1813,  in  the  month  of 
June,  the  squirrels  were  very  destructive  to  the  corn,  and 
my  father  took  his  gun  and  went  to  the  field  to  try  if  he  could 
stop  the  destruction  of  his  corn.  My  uncle,  Jesse  Cline,  for 
whom  I  was  named,  and  William  Shanklin,  went  with  him, 
and  I  also  was  permitted  to  go.  They  had  killed  three  or 
four,  when  they  saw  one  run  up  a  tall  beech  tree.  My  father 


8 


JESSE  J.  G-OBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

shot  it,  and  when  it  had  fallen  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  they 
could  see  it  no  more ;  and  what  increased  their  admiration, 
and  caused  their  search  to  be  more  diligent,  they  said  that 
after  it  had  fallen  several  feet  it  became  jet  black.  While 
they  were  marveling  at  the  idea  of  so  unreasonable  a  cir¬ 
cumstance  there  commenced  a  most  lamentable  groaning 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  where  thev  stood.  There 

tj  t j 

• 

was  a  large  beech  log  lying  there,  and  a  small  blue  ash  top 
had  fallen  across  the  beech  log ;  and  they  had  lain  there  so 
long  that  the  bark  had  fallen  off  the  ash  limbs.  The  men 
stood  amazed,  and  the  groaning  continued.  At  length  they 
went  to  the  spot  where  the  groaning  seemed  to  be  and  ex¬ 
amined  critically,  scratching  the  leaves  from  the  side  of  the 
log  to  see  if  it  was  hollow.  They  could  make  no  discovery 
of  anything,  but  the  groaning  continued.  At  length  the  ash 
brush  began  shaking,  and  the  groaning  increased.  The  men 
stood  amazed,  one  saying  to  another,  u  What  is  it  VJ  Of 
course  it  alarmed  me  to  see  them  so  excited.  At  length  the 
groaning  ceased.  It  broke  up  the  squirrel  hunt,  and  they 
started  to  the  house,  which  was  a  half-mile  distant,  and  I 
do  not  think  they  spoke  one  word  on  the  way ;  but  when  they 
arrived  at  the  house  they  related  the  mysterious  circumstance 
to  my  mother,  which  seemed  to  fall  on  her  mind  with  amaze¬ 
ment  and  solemnity.  In  the  month  of  July  my  father  was 
taken  sick,  and  in  August  he  died ;  and  his  dying  groans, 
and  those  above  spoken  of,  were  as  near  the  same  as  any 
two  things  I  ever  heard,  both  in  sound  and  in  length  of  time. 

Xow  my  mother  was  left  a  widow,  on  a  new  place,  with 
but  little  ground  cleared,  in  a  thinly  settled  country,  and  I 
the  oldest  boy,  whose  age  then  was  about  five  years  and 
eight  months ;  but  my  grandfather  built  a  cabin  on  his  land 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN\s  WRITINGS. 


9 


:aml  moved  my  mother  to  it,  a  distance  of  sixty  miles,  so  as 
to  assist  her.  He  was  raised  a  Presbyterian  of  the  strictest 
sort,  and  was  very  rigid  in  discipline.  He  seemed  impressed 
in  his  mind  that  one  of  the  three  little  bovs  would  be  a  min- 
ister  of  the  gospel,  and  he  would  frequently  talk  to  mother 
about  it  until  he  would  be  in  a  flood  of  tears ;  and  as  grand¬ 
father  was  impressed  in  that  way,  I  thought  it  must  be  so, 
and  often  wondered  which  one  it  would  be. 

I  was  about  ten  vears  old  when  the  next  circumstance 
of  note  occurred.  My  mother  and  oldest  sister  went  to  one 
of  my  uncle’s  to  sit  until  bed-time.  Mother  and  sister  and  I 
were  sitting  by  the  Are,  when  suddenly  it  was  said  to  me, 
“You  must  go  and  pray.”  I  answered,  “O  Lord,  I  do  not 
know  the  first  word  of  prayer.”  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  feeling 
like  the  paleness  of  death  was  upon  me.  My  heart  was  pal¬ 
pitating,  and  my  whole  system  was  in  a  tremor.  I  walked 
to  the  door  and  leaned  against  the  post.  To  me  it  was  the 
darkest  night  I  ever  saw.  The  thought  ran  through  my 
mind  that  I  dared  not  go  out  to  pray,  and  to  stand  there  was 
not  humble  enough,  and  if  I  knelt  down  the  Lord  would  not 
bear  with  me ;  for  I  was  so  great  a  sinner,  and  the  holiness 

of  God  seemed  to  be  present.  I  have  no  language  to  describe 

% 

the  depth  of  my  feelings.  As  there  was  but  little  light  in 
the  house,  my  sister  had  no  idea  of  my  great  agitation  of 
mind.  At  length  my  extreme  trouble  somewhat  subsided, 
and  after  a  late  hour  I  went  to  sleep.  I  had  several  cousins 
that  lived  near,  with  whom  I  had  often  met,  and  had  much 
pleasure  in  playing  and  romping;  but  now  I  was  as  one 
wounded,  and  had  to  leave  my  former  company,  which  was 
a  sore  trial  to  me ;  not  because  I  desired  to  return  to  my 
former  course,  but  because  of  their  strenuous  inquiry  to  know 


10 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


what  was  the  matter,  sometimes  supposing  that  I  was  mad 
at  them.  On  some  occasions  I  was  overcome  for  their  feel¬ 
ings’  sake ;  and  when  the  evening  shades  came  I  would  retire 
to  some  lonely  place,  and  there  weep  over  my  past  conduct,, 
promising  to  do  so  no  more. 

This  state  of  things  continued  for  some  time.  At  length 
the  greatest  revival  of  religion  that  ever  I  saw  commenced 
at  Buffalo  Lick,  about  two  miles  from  my  mother’s.  I  at¬ 
tended  the  meeting  with  my  two  sisters,  hoping  there  would 
be  some  relief  for  me ;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  There  were  a 
number  of  young  people  about  my  age  that  appeared  to  be 
in  great  agony,  weeping  and  sighing  over  their  lost  and 
ruined  condition ;  and  the  thought  occurred  to  me,  O  that  I 
could  weep  and  mourn  as  those  young  people  do;  then  I 
would  hope  that  some  good  was  begun.  But  this  I  could 
not  do.  My  eyes  were  dry,  my  heart  was  hard,  and  the 
words  of  the  poet  were  completely  mine, 

“  But  my  complaint  remains  ; 

I  feel  the  very  same ; 

As  full  of  guilt  and  fear  and  pain 
As  when  at  first  I  came. 

“  0  would  the  Lord  appear, 

My  malady  to  heal ; 

He  knows  how  long  I've  languish’d  here, 

And  what  distress  I  feel.” 

The  revival  subsided,  and  there  were  a  number  brought  into 
the  church.  I  think  the  work  was  of  the  Lord,  for  they  wore 
well,  honoring  the  profession  they  had  made.  My  extreme 
trouble  subsided,  and  I  fell  back  into  the  common  row  of 
young  people,  filled  with  mirth  and  vanity. 

Nothing  of  note  took  place  until  in  my  nineteenth  year, 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


11 


tv  lien  I  learned  there  was  to  be  a  baptizing  about  ten  miles 
from  my  mother’s,  and  amongst  the  candidates  a  young  lady 
to  whom  I  had  been  paying  my  respects  for  a  time.  I  went 
to  the  meeting.  The  congregation  was  large,  and  the  scene 
was  a  solemn  one  to  me;  for  I  viewed  the  ordinance  then  as 
I  now  do,  that  it  was  a  sacred  one  from  heaven,  and  the 
preparation  of  its  subjects  must  come  from  the  same  source ; 
and  I  was  not  prepared,  and  had  no  evidence  that  I  ever 
would  be.  This  gave  me  a  feeling  that  I  was  unworthy  the 
company  of  such  as  had  received  the  heavenly  gift. 

But  to  continue  my  narrative  just  as  it  occurred.  [Not 
far  from  this  time  my  mother  made  me  a  proposition  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  If  I  would  go  on  and  raise  grain  for  the  support  of  the 
family,  as  I  had  done,  all  the  tobacco  I  could  raise  should  be 
my  own.  This  stimulated  my  energy  to  its  highest  pitch,  so 
that  I  suppose  I  came  as  near  working  day  and  night  as  one 
possibly  could ;  for  on  several  nights  I  hung  tobacco  from 
dark  until  daylight,  so  that  in  three  crops  I  made  enough  to 
enter  eighty  acres  of  land,  and  to  pay  for  two  horses  and  a 
cow  and  calf. 

At  this  period  the  year  1820  had  rolled  around,  and  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  leave  the  land  of  my  childhood  and 
go  to  the  wilderness  of  Indiana.  I  started  on  the  first  of 
October  and  landed  in  Montgomery  County,  entered  my  land 
on  Walnut  Creek,  seven  miles  east  of  Crawfordsville,  raised 
my  cabin,  hewed  puncheons  and  floored  it,  built  the  chimney 
up  to  the  mantel,  and  prepared  the  small  stick  for  running 
out  the  floor.  In  the  above  time  I  lost  one  of  my  horses.  I 
kept  the  leader  hobbled,  to  let  them  feed  near  where  I  was 
working,  when  all  at  once  one  was  missing,  and  in  all  my 
searching  I  could  not  find  it.  As  the  red  men  had  not  yet 


12 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


given  up  tlieir  hunting-ground,  I  supposed  they  had  stolen 
it.  After  this  misfortune  I  went  hack  to  Kentucky,  settled 
up  some  business,  and  then  paid  a  visit  to  the  young  lady 
above  mentioned,  making  known  to  her  my  loss.  She  pro¬ 
posed  that  we  postpone  our  marriage  for  the  present,  until 
I  could  get  another  beast.  I  told  her  I  was  net  willing  to  go 
without  her,  for  I  had  made  arrangements  for  us  both ;  and 
with  her  consent  she  would  ride  my  beast  and  I  would  walk. 
She  thought  it  would  be  too  hard  for  me ;  but  I  told  her  that 
she  would  make  up  for  all  my  toil,  and  I  thought  I  could  go 
the  trij)  about  as  soon  as  a  horse  could.  So  we  were  married 
on  the  8th  of  December,  1829,  started  to  our  wilderness  home 
on  the  11th,  and  landed  within  one  mile  of  our  cabin  on  the 
21st,  having  been  ten  days  traveling. 

I  will  now  give  a  more  full  account  of  our  tedious  jour¬ 
ney,  which  will  explain  why  we  were  so  long  on  the  road. 
It  began  raining  the  first  day  at  noon,  and  continued  to  pour 
down  until  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Then  a  little  snow 
fell,  about  one  inch,  and  it  cleared  off  exceedingly  cold,  and 
all  the  streams  of  note  were  swimming;  but  we  pursued  our 
journey,  and  about  three  o’clock  we  came  to  a  cabin  in  the 
woods.  An  elderly  man  came  out  and  informed  us  that  there 
was  a  creek  a  few  rods  ahead  that  could  not  be  forded,  and 
that  •five  or  six  persons  were  there  waiting  for  the  stream  to 
run  down.  He  further  stated  that  he  was  riding  a  very  tall 
beast,  and  he  thought  that  by  morning  he  could  cross  with¬ 
out  getting  wet ;  and  that  u  you  and  your  lady  can  walk  up 
the  creek  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  to  where  there  is  a 
foot-log,  and  there  you  can  cross,  and  I  will  lead  your  beast 
across  and  hitch  it,  and  you  can  come  down  and  get  it  and 
pursue  your  journey.”  This  kind  offer  was  thankfully  re- 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


1  o 

j  O 


ceived,  and  the  next  morning  completely  fulfilled.  But  to 
continue  my  narrative.  This  same  old  gentleman  in  the 
course  of  the  evening  said  to  me,  u  Let  us  take  a  walk.”  I 
readily  consented,  and  he  began  a  conversation  by  saying, 
u  Young  man,  you  seem  to  be  traveling  with  a  nice  looking 
young  lady,  and  I  thought  perhaps  you  were  not  married, 
and  if  you  were  not,  I  would  offer  my  services  to  assist  you 
in  getting  a  license.”  I  thanked  him  for  his  kind  offer,  but 
went  on  to  state  to  him  that  although  our  way  of  traveling 
looked  suspicious,  yet  we  were  legally  and  lawfully  married. 
I  then  gave  the  old  gentleman  a  short  history  of  our  lives, 
stating  that  my  mother  was  left  a  widow  with  five  children 
when  I  was  about  five  years  old ;  that  she  raised  them,  but 
had  very  little  to  give  them  ;  that  my  wife  lost  her  mother 
when  she  was  three  years  old,  and  her  father  was  left  with 
nine  children ;  that  he  raised  them,  but  had  nothing  to  give 
them ;  and  that  when  we  became  acquainted  we  took  a  fancy 
to  each  other,  and  agreed  to  cast  our  lots  together,  though 
we  were  poor.  At  this  point  the  old  gentleman  asked  par¬ 
don  for  the  freedom  he  had  taken,  and  went  on  to  sav  that 
this  journey  would  do  for  us  to  talk  about  for  many  years,  if 
we  should  live.  I  thanked  him  for  the  kind  regard  he  had 
for  us.  He  was  about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  a  steam  doctor 
by  profession ;  and  I  have  ever  thought  of  him  with  the  kind¬ 
est  regard. 

The  next  day’s  travel  brought  us  to  a  stream  called  Sand 
Creek.  It  was  very  full,  and  we  stayed  there  that  night 
with  a  man  named  Clap,  and  slept  in  a  room  ‘that  was  not 
plastered.  The  night  was  exceedingly  cold,  so  of  course  our 
rest  was  very  poor.  The  next  morning  we  crossed  the  raging 
stream  in  a  small  canoe,  and  swam  our  beast  by  its  side. 


14 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


The  next  obstacles  in  our  way  were  the  two  Miscatitacs. 
We  crossed  them  just  below  the  two  forks.  The  ferryman 
took  our  beast  on  the  upper  side  of  the  canoe,  which  was 
wrong,  and  the  swift  water  washed  her  under  the  canoe. 
This  frightened  the  beast,  and  as  long  as  she  could  touch 
bottom  with  her  hind  feet  she  reared  and  pitched,  rocking  the 
canoe.  I  took  fast  hold  of  my  wife,  with  the  thought  that  if 
the  canoe  upset  I  would  make  a  leap  at  the  beast’s  tail  and 
lay  hold  of  the  same,  and  let  her  take  us  out ;  but  we  soon 
got  in  water  so  deep  that  she  could  not  touch  bottom,  so  we 
landed  safely,  and  truly  felt  that  we  had  narrowly  escaped 
great  danger.  But  the  stream  being  wide,  and  the  water 
extremely  cold,  the  beast  seemed  like  she  would  chill  to  death. 

The  next  obstruction  we  met  with  was  at  Blue  Biver. 
It  had  overflowed  its  banks  for  a  number  of  rods,  and  the 
drift  had  been  running  so  that  several  persons  had  been 
waiting  two  days  to  cross.  It  was  in  the  morning  when  we 
got  to  the  river,  and  I  hunted  up  the  ferryman  to  learn  our 
chance  for  crossing.  He  said  it  was  not  safe  to  cross,  but  if 
I  insisted  lie  would  try  it  in  the  afternoon.  I  asked  my  wife 
if  she  was  willing  to  risk  it,  and  she  said  she  was;  so  when 
the  time  came  to  start  I  got  a  man  to  ride  our  beast  up  the 
river  through  the  timber,  about  half  a  mile  above  the  ford, 
where  the  flat-boat  was  anchored,  and  the  ferryman  took  us 
up  in  a  canoe  to  the  boat.  This  we  had  to  do  in  order  to 
angle  the  river,  that  we  might  not  be  landed  below  the  out- 
coming  ford.  When  those  men  who  had  been  waiting  two 
days  to  cross  saw  that  we  were  going  to  risk  it,  they  said  if 
that  woman  was  soldier  enough  to  go,  they  ought  also  to  be; 
so  they  went  with  us.  There  were  six  persons  and  four 


15 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

horses  in  the  boat,  and  we  landed  safely.  I  think  I  was 
thankful,  and  I  know  1  was  glad. 

There  was  nothing  of  note  until  we  got  to  Eel  River. 
The  water  looked  like  lye,  and  was  a  very  muddy  bottom. 
The  ford  was  tolerably  wide,  and  there  was  a  high  foot-log 
below  the  ford.  My  wife  said  she  would  rather  risk  riding 
the  beast  than  to  try  walking  the  foot-log,  so  she  rode  across  ; 
but  with  the  depth  of  the  mud  and  water  together,  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  she  kept  her  feet  dry. 

The  next  difficulty  occurred  on  our  last  day’s  travel.  In 
crossing  a  muddy  branch  the  beast  crossed  so  as  to  get  both 
fore  feet  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  branch,  and  her  hind 
feet  were  in  the  mud  a  foot  deep.  She  gave  a  spring  to  get 
out,  and  burst  the  girt,  and  my  wife  fell  on  her  feet  where 
the  mud  and  water  was  about  fifteen  inches  deep.  I  sprang 
in  and  caught  her  as  she  was  falling,  led  her  out,  wrung  the 
water  out  of  her  dress,  got  a  dry  pair  of  stockings  out  of  the 
saddle-sacks,  and  we  put  them  on.  Then  I  repaired  the  girt, 
saddled  the  beast,  and  helped  her  on,  wrapping  her  in  my 
overcoat  the  best  I  could.  By  this  time  it  was  getting  dark, 
and  the  nearest  house  was  five  miles  distant,  and  our  clothes 
were  frozen  stiff  to  the  knees.  About  nine  o’clock  we  landed 
at  the  house  previously  spoken  of,  which  was  one  mile  from 
our  cabin.  Xow  we  were  glad  beyond  description  that  our 
tedious  journey  had  ended  at  last.  Neither  of  us  received 
any  lasting  injury  from  our  wetting. 

We  yet  had  to  go  one  mile  and  three-quarters  to  Billy 
Wilson’s,  where  we  could  get  board  until  I  could  fix  our 
cabin.  The  fine  was. to  run  out,  and  a  back  and  jambs  to 
make,  before  we  could  move.  We  landed  at  our  boarding 
house  early  in  the  morning,  and  I  struck  out  to  the  cabin, 


16 


JESSE  J.  GOBEX’S  WPwITIXGS. 

witli  tlie  intention  to  run  the  flue  out  that  day,  although  I 
knew  it  was  called  a  good  day's  work  for  two  hands  to  build 
a  flue  to  a  story-and-a-half  house.  I  will  here  say  that  the 
weather  had  moderated  during  the  night,  which  greatly 
favored  me  in  my  work.  When  I  got  to  the  cabin  the  first 
thing  to  do  was  to  make  a  scaffold  to  stand  on.  I  gave  a 
glancing  lick  to  sharpen  a  fork,  and  the  ax  passed  over  my 
foot,  cutting  three  of  my  toes  to  the  bone,  and  my  shoe  at 
least  two  inches.  In  a  few  minutes  the  blood  began  gushing 
out  profusely.  What  shall  I  dot  If  I  go  to  the  house  to 
get  my  foot  tied  up,  I  will  not  get  my  flue  done ;  and  if  it 
continues  to  bleed,  I  may  get  so  weak  that  I  cannot  work. 
The  thought  struck  me,  I  will  make  some  stiff*  mortar  and 
cram  the  top  of  my  shoe  full,  and  then  stick  a  plaster  of  mud 
on  the  cut  place,  and  when  it  runs  full  there  will  be  no  room 
for  any  more.  So  I  carried  into  effect  the  above  plan  ;  and 
when  the  blood  gushed  out  in  any  place  I  would  cram  in: 
more  mud.  I  got  my  flue  done,  and  reached  my  boarding 
house  a  little  after  sunset.  .  When  I  took  off  mv  shoe  and  » 
stocking  a  thin  scale  of  clotted  blood  had  settled  around  my 
foot,  and  when  I  had  washed  it  off  I  think  it  was  whiter  than 
it  has  ever  been  since.  The  next  day  I  got  a  hand  to  help 
me,  and  we  made  the  back  and  jambs.  This  we  did  by  set¬ 
ting  up  a  puncheon  of  the  thickness  we  wanted  the  back, 
and  one  on  each  side  of  the  thickness  we  wanted  the  jambs. 
Then  we  threw  dirt  behind  them,  and  beat  the  dirt  until  it 
became  a  stiff*  mortar.  Then  we  kindled  a  lire  and  burned 
the  puncheons  out,  and  the  fire-place  was  completed. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to- take  a  trip  to  Putnam 
County.  My  mother  had  given  me  a  bed,  and  I  had  a  trunk. 

I  had  hired  a  man  that  had  moved  from  Kentucky  to  haul 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


17 


them  for  me  with  his  goods.  The  distance  that  I  had  to  go 
was  ten  miles  through  a  wilderness.  I  put  my  feather  bed 
in  the  straw  tick  and  threw  it  across  my  saddle,  and  turned 
the  collar  upside  down,  letting  it  rest  on  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle  and  the  neck  of  the  beast,  and  set  the  trunk  on  the 
collar ;  and  so  I  took  them  home. 

The  next  trip  was  to  Crawfordsville,  to  get  our  pot 
metal  and  cupboard  ware.  This  being  done,  we  were  ready 
to  move  to  our  new  home.  After  taking  supper  with  Uncle 
Billy  Wilson  and  Aunt  Bachel,  with  whom  we  had  boarded, 
we  repaired  to  our  cabin,  while  as  yet  there  was  no  loft  laid 
in  it  nor  shutter  to  the  door  ;  but  we  hung  a  quilt  in  the  door, 
made  our  bed  on  the  floor,  and  had  a  good  night’s  rest.  The 
next  morning,  while  I  was  busy  at  work  out  of  doors,  it  all 
at  once  struck  my  mind  with  amusement,  How  will  Mintia 
fix  for  our  breakfasts J?  knowing  we  had  no  furniture  but  two 
little  stools  that  I  had  previously  made ;  but,  rather  to  my 
surprise,  she  had  set  the  trunk  out  and  spread  a  little  cloth 
on  it,  and  set  a  stool  on  each  side  of  the  trunk.  When  I 
stepped  in  she  turned  toward  the  back  part  of  the  house,  as 
though  she  had  something  to  do  there.  Her  cheeks  were 
very  red,  and  I  saw  she  was  a  little  plagued.  I  sat  down  on 
mv  stool,  and  not  one  bite  would  I  eat  until  she  came.  1 
was  truly  happy  in  the  midst  of  danger,  and  surrounded  with 
plenty  in  the  midst  of  want;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  never 
have  enjoyed  a  more  pleasant  meal  since. 

The  next  night  we  were  sitting  by  a  bright  fire,  when 
all  at  once  my  beast  began  snorting  very  loud  and  shrill,  as 
though  she  were  badly  scared.  I  had  her  chained  to  a  ])ro- 
jecting  beech  limb,  about  forty  yards  from  the  house,  and  I 


18 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


ran  out  to  learn  wliat  was  the  matter.  Eight  behind  the 
chimney  stood  a  hollow  stump,  with  a  hole  in  it  near  the 
ground  about  the  size  of  a  hat,  and  I  ran  against  it,  one  foot- 
striking  on  one  side  and  the  other  foot  on  the  other  side. 
This  left  me  in  a  widened  out  and  bowed  down  condition, 
and  I  came  well  nigh  pitching  over  the  stump.  While  in 
this  condition  there  were  two  of  the  keenest  snaps  right  in 
my  face,  so  that  the  breath  of  the  brute  blew  my  hair  back 
as  though  it  had  been  done  with  a  fan.  1  then  heard  it  run 
away,  so  I  went  on  to  my  beast  and  quieted  her.  Then  I 
went  into  the  house  and  began  telling  my  wife  that  1  was 
nearly  bitten  by  a  dog;  and  while  I  was  telling  her,  a  wolf 
began  howling  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  off,  and  at 
least  a  half-dozen  more  responded,  so  that  the  woods  rang 
with  their  noise.  My  wife  then  explained  to  me  that  she  had 
thrown  the  crumbs  of  the  table  in  the  stump,  for  we  neither 
had  pig,  dog  nor  pup  to  eat  them.  So  the  wolf  had  been 
eating  the  crumbs,  and  I  had  greatly  surprised  it,  and  it  me; 
for  the  snaps  in  my  face  were  so  keen  and  unexpected  that 
the  appearance  of  sparkling  fire  was  before  my  eyes. 

I  now  went  on  to  finish  our  house,  making  boards  to 
cover  the  loft,  and  a  shutter  to  the  door.  This  being  done, 
the  next  thing  was  to  make  a  tray ;  for  my  wife  had  been 
making  up  her  bread  in  a  breakfast  plate.  I  went  to  a  buck¬ 
eye  tree,  split  out  a  block,  and  dressed  it  nicely  with  a  foot 
adze  and  drawing  knife ;  so  we  had  a  good  tray,  that  lasted 
us  more  than  a  dozen  years.  The  next  grr  a  test  need  was  a 
wash  tub  ;  so  I  dug  out  a  white  walnut  trough  that  would 
hold  a  bushel  and  a  half,  and  put  legs  in  it  to  make  it  a 
proper  height.  All  this  time  our  bed  had  to  be  made  on  the 
floor;  so  I  made  a  bedstead  with  one  leg,  confined  it  to  the 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


19 


walls  of  tlie  house  with  small  poles,  bottomed  it  with  linn 
bark,  and  it  was  almost  equal  to  a  spring  bottom.  The  next 
great  need  was  a  table ;  so  I  split  open  a  black  walnut  and 
got  timber  of  which  I  made  a  table ;  and  our  oldest  daughter’s 
wedding  dinner  was  eaten  in  the  kitchen  on  that  table. 

Now  our  house  was  fitted  out  with  furniture,  and  we  had 
been  blessed  with  about  two  weeks  of  mild  winter  weather. 
This  being  the  first  week  in  January,  it  began  snowing,  and 
snowed  until  it  was  twenty-two  inches  deep,  and  turned  ex¬ 
ceedingly  cold,  and  remained  so  until  March,  so  that  I  could 
do  no  clearing ;  but  I  employed  my  time  in  cutting  rail  tim¬ 
ber.  I  cut  a  large  black  walnut,  where  I  wanted  my  garden  ; 
and  the  snow  being  so  deep,  it  hindered  the  chips  from  flying 
away.  In  the  spring  I  began  piling  the  chips  to  burn,  and 
to  make  quick  work  I  would  fall  on  my  knees  and  scrape  up 
a  whole  pile  at  a  time ;  and  about  the  third  pile  I  heard  a 
strange  rattling  noise.  I  looked,  and  there  was  a  black 
rattle  snake,  that  had  worked  a  hole  in  the  top  of  the  chips, 
and  was  drawing  its  head  back  to  strike  me  in  the  face.  My 
chips  fell  in  a  hurry,  and  I  soon  dispatched  him.  You  may 
be  sure  that  I  looked  closely  at  my  chip  piles  before  I  moved 
them. 

I  will  here  relate  another  snake  story.  My  wife  said  she 
wanted  to  go  and  stay  all  night  with  Aunt  Rachel,  where  we 
had  boarded.  I  told  her  she  might  go  before  night,  and  I 
would  work  until  sunset,  and  then  come ;  so  about  dusk  I 
dropped  my  ax  and  started  on  a  run  for  the  little  path. 
When  I  got  within  about  ten  feet  of  the  path  I  jumped  into 
it,  and  at  that  moment  there  was  a  black  rattle  snake  cross¬ 
ing  the  path.  It  threw  itself  in  a  coil,  and  as  it  struck  I 
jumped  up,  and  it  missed  its  aim.  It  stretched  its  neck  to 


20 


JESSE  J.  GOBEX'S  WRITINGS. 


run,  but  when  I  came  down  it  struck  again.  The  next  time 
I  had  presence  of  mind  to  jump  backward.  This  put  me  out 
of  his  reach,  and  I  made  quick  work  of  him.  It  would  be 
hard  to  tell  which  was  the  more  frightened,  me  or  the  snake. 
I  then  had  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  go,  and  every  step  I 
thought,  Snake !  snake !  Doubtless  my  steps  were  quick 
and  a  good  piece  apart.  Although  there  were  many  wild 
animals  in  the  country,  such  as  the  lynx,  panther,  bear,  wolf, 
catamount  and  wild  cat,  yet  I  had  greater  fear  of  snakes  than 

all  of  them.  There  were  three  deer  licks,  and  the  furthest  of 

/ 

them  was  one  mile  and  a  quarter ;  and  when  we  wanted  some 
venison  I  would  go  and  watch  one  of  those  licks  at  night, 
for  I  had  no  time  to  hunt  during  the  day.  I  had  a  thick  jiair 
of  cloth  ieggins,  that  reached  six  inches  above  my  knees,  and 
they  made  me  feel  somewhat  snake-proof.  On  some  occa¬ 
sion!  I  would  hear  them  rush  across  my  path,  and  it  would 
make  my  fiesh  creep.  There  is  something  singular  in  regard 
to  the  color  of  a  deer.  On  the  darkest  night  they  have  the 
appearance  of  a  spot  of  moonlight  shining  through  a  dark 
shade  on  the  earth,  so  that  you  have  a  fair  target  to  level 
your  gun  at.  I  never  shot  at  one  but  wliac  I  got  it.  One 
evening  I  told  my  wife  that  I  wanted  some  venison,  and  I 
would  go  down  to  the  lick,  it  being  about  sunset :  so  I  got 
upon  my  scaffold,  and  had  not  yet  sat  down  when  I  heard 
one  walking  in  the  gravel  not  more  than  four  or  five  rods 
from  me,  and  coming  toward  me.  I  was  standing  in  a  lialf- 
bent  condition,  my  gun  not  primed,  and  I  dared  not  move. 
I  waited  until  it  put  its  head  down  to  drink,  and  then  primed 
my  gun  and  banged  away,  breaking  its  back.  My  wife  heard 
it  bleat,  for  the  lick  was  not  more  than  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  house :  so  she  came  down,  and  carried  my  gun  and 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


21 


shot  pouch,  and  I  took  one  of  my  suspenders  and  tied  its  feet 
together,  carrying  it  like  you  would  a  shot  pouch,  and  feel¬ 
ing  very  proud. 

Xow  I  have  given  a  short  history  of  my  travels,  and  as 
yet  have  said  very  little  on  the  more  important  points  that 
induced  me  to  write.  Strange  to  say,  that  although  I  had 
been  so  wonderfully  arrested  in  my  childhood,  and  made  to 
acknowledge  that  I  did  not  know  the  first  word  of  prayer, 
and  dared  not  bow  on  my  sinful  knees,  yet  when  I  arrived  at 
manhood  there  was  a  principle  in  me  that  I  had  to  make  my 
peace  with  God  through  my  obedience  to  him,  and  thereby 
draw  his  love  to  me.  I  began  the  work  by  trying  to  live  up 
to  the  strictest  rule  of  morality,  quitting  all  joking  and  jest¬ 
ing  as  much  as  I  could,  and  often  saying  prayers,  and  truly 
thought  I  was  gaining  ground  very  fast;  for  when  I  looked 
back  on  my  past  life  it  was  not  so  bad  as  many  othei*$.  I 
had  now  so  reformed  that  there  were  but  few  church  mem¬ 
bers  that  I  would  have  been  willing  to  exchange  chances  with 
if  I  could.  It  is  true  I  thought  there  were  a  few  who  were 
better  than  I ;  but  after  awhile,  when  some  of  the  busy  scenes 
of  life  were  over,  I  expected  to  get  as  good  as  they ;  for  I 
verily  thought  a  man  could  have  all  the  religion  he  would 
work  for.  There  was  a  Baptist  Church  which  had  been  con¬ 
stituted  the  year  before  we  came,  but  they  had  no  meeting¬ 
house,  so  they  had  to  hold  their  meetings  at  private  houses ; 
and  the  members  lived  so  scattered  that  when  they  came  to 
meeting  they  would  stay  over  night  in  our  neighborhood,  and 
often  some  of  them  stayed  with  us.  Their  whole  theme  would 
be  on  their  system  of  religion,  which  was  predestination, 
election  and  justification  through  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints  in  grace  to 


22 


JESSE  J.  SOBERS  WHITINGS. 

glory.  This  was  as  opposite  to  my  religion  aslife  and  death  f 
and  what  made  the  matter  worse,  they  eonld  outtalk  me,  and 
seemed  to  prove  their  system  from  the  Scriptures,  while  I 
believed  with  all  my  heart  that  my  system  was  true  and  theirs 
false.  What  gave  me  more  trouble,  my  wife  was  young  in 
years,  and  more  so  by  profession,  and  they  might  get  her  so 
blindfolded  that  she  would  unite  with  them ;  so  it  struck  me* 
that  I  would  read  the  New  Testament  through,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  prove  my  doctrine.  I  read  about  half-way  through,, 
and  did  not  find  one  witness  to  rely  on ;  so  I  concluded  that 
I  had  not  been  particular  enough  in  reading,  and  would  be¬ 
gin  again  at  the  first  chapter,  and  prepare  myself  with  paper 
and  ink,  and  write  down  all  my  passages  and  memorize  them, 
and  then  I  would  be  ready  for  argument ;  for  I  felt  sure  that 
I  was  right,  as  I  had  commenced  the  work,  and  had  become 
a  grtat  deal  better.  So  I  began  and  read  every  chapter 

i 

carefully,  and  did  not  find  one  passage  in  my  favor.  My' 
astonishment  was  beyond  expression,  for  I  was  not  willing 
to  be  convinced  of  the  truth ;  so  it  had  a  tendency  to  make 
me  exceedingly  mad  against  the  Scriptures,  and  the  thought 
would  frequently  run  through  my  mind,  O  that  I  had  the 
last  Bible  on  earth !  I  would  tear  out  every  particle  of  that 
hard  doctrine !  But  I  still  went  with  my  wife  to  meeting  \ 
for  there  were  no  roads,  but  the  trees  were  blazed  from  house 
to  house.  When  they  began  their  meeting,  and  I  heard  them 
invite  nobody  but  the  brethren  and  sisters  of  their  faith  and 
order,  it  sounded  so  selfish  and  one-sided  to  me  that  it  was 
contemptible ;  for  I  could  think  of  no  order  of  people  but 
what  were  preferable  to  them.  All  this  time  my  wife  had 
been  a  silent  listener  to  my  great  opposition,  and  never  had 
attempted  the  least  argument;  but  one  morning  she  came  to 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


23 


the  door  and  asked  me  to  come  in,  and  I  answered  her  re¬ 
quest.  She  then  informed  me  that  she  had  made  up  her 
mind  to  offer  her  letter  to  the  church  the  next  day.  O  what 
a  shock  it  was  to  me !  for  she  had  remained  so  silent  all  the 
time  that  I  thought  I  had  gained  my  point.  I  answered  her, 
saying,  “  Well,  Mintia,  if  you  must  go  with  them,  it  will  have 
to  be  so ;  but  it  grieves  my  heart  sorely.”  I  then  sat  down 
by  her  and  laid  my  face  on  her  lap,  and  my  tears  ran  freely. 
She  then  said,  “Mr.  Goben,  you  ought  not  take  it  so  hard, 
for  you  knew  I  was  a  Baptist  before  we  were  married.”  I 
said,  “  Yes,  but  I  did  not  know  the  doctrine  was  so  God- 
dishonoring,  and  I  feel  it  will  be  a  disgrace  to  you.  If  you 
could  be  reconciled  to  join  some  other  order,  it  would  please 
me  well.”  She  answered,  “If  I  cannot  join  them,  I  do  not 
wish  to  join  any  other.”  I  then  said,  “  I  do  not  wish  to  de¬ 
prive  you  of  any  of  your  privileges,  but  I  had  rather  you 
would  join  any  other  order.”  I  went  out  to  my  work,  and 
fully  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  not  go  to  meeting  with 
her  the  next  day;  but  Saturday  morning  came,  and  I  was 
chopping  on  a  tree  in  front  of  the  house,  when  she  called  to 
me,  saying  it  was  time  we  were  fixing  for  meeting.  I  quit 
work  and  meditated  a  few  minutes.  The  thought  struck  me, 
If  1  do  not  go,  it  will  hurt  her  feelings,  and  likely  she  will 
shed  tears  over  the  matter,  and  I  do  not  feel  satisfied  for 
that  to  be.  I  will  go,  but  will  not  go  into  the  house.  But 
when  we  got  there  I  thought  it  would  look  bad  for  me  to  stay 
out,  so  I  went  in.  In  a  few  minutes  they  began  their  meet¬ 
ing,  and  I  sat  there  feeling  most  hateful ;  but  it  was  only  a 
few  minutes  until  a  strange  tremor  ran  over  me,  so  that  my 
whole  system  was  shocked.  I  felt  like  the  paleness  of  death 
had  come  upon  me,  and  all  my  strength  was  well  nigh  gone. 


24 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

I  looked  at  the  congregation  that  sat  before  me.  Such  heav¬ 
enly  countenances  I  had  never  seen  before.  They  all  looked 
precisely  alike,  having  that  heavenly  beauty  and  brightness 
that  is  indescribable.  I  saw  in  my  understanding  their  ac¬ 
ceptable  services  ascending  upward  from  them  all  in  praise 
to  God ;  while  I  viewed  my  condition  to  be  the  very  oppo¬ 
site,  for  the  blackness  of  darkness  had  overwhelmed  me.  I 
could  not  remain  in  the  house,  and  tremblingly  endeavored 
to  go  out  unobserved.  I  went  to  the  west  end  of  the  house, 
where  there  was  no  window,  so  that  I  might  not  be  observed, 
and  there  I  remained  until  meeting  broke  up,  pondering  over 
the  strange  view  I  had  just  had,  and  my  unaccountable  feel¬ 
ings.  I  will  here  state  that  my  wife  numbered  amongst  the 
best  singers,  and  we  had  been  in  the  habit  of  singing  a  great 
deal  together,  both  at  home  and  abroad;  but  now  my  singing 
was  dried  up,  my  harp  was  on  the  willows.  AYhen  asked 
why  I  did  not  help  sing,  it  gave  me  trouble,  for  I  did  not 
wish  to  tell ;  for  it  seemed  that  it  would  be  a  great  sin  for 
me  to  sing  songs  that  did  not  embrace  me,  but  belonged  to 
others.  For  instance,  if  I  should  sing,  “Am  I  a  soldier  of 
the  cross,  a  follower  of  the  Lamb  F  I  knew  that  I  was  not; 
and  if  I  should  attempt  to  sing,  “  I'm  not  ashamed  to  own 
my  Lord,’’  I  had  no  Lord  that  I  dared  to  claim ;  so  all  was 
false  to  me.  Xow  a  new  scene  had  commenced  with  me,  for 
all  my  supposed  goodness  was  gone,  and  I  was  left  to  reflect 
on  the  strange  things  that  had  transpired ;  while  the  holi¬ 
ness  of  the  great  God  was  continually  with  me,  and  my  own 
imperfections  were  so  great  that  I  could  oiler  no  acceptable 
service  to  God.  My  prayers  were  sin  and  my  tears  were 
vile,  all  falling  powerless  to  the  ground;  hence  my  only  hope 
was  that  I  would  get  better  after  awhile,  and  then  the  Lord 


25 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

would  hear  me.  I  went  on  from  day  to  day,  hoping  the  time 
would  come ;  but  instead  of  getting  better,  I  was  like  the 
poor  woman  in  the  gospel,  and  grew  rather  worse,  so  that  it 
became  a  wonder  to  me  that  I  had  been  spared  to  that  time. 
Surely  the  Lord  will  not  bear  with  me  much  longer.  As  I 
was  coming  from  my  work,  and  leading  my  beast,  the  earth 
sounded  hollow  under  my  feet,  and  at  every  step  the  crust 
seemed  to  get  thinner.  The  thought  struck  me  that  I  would 
be  swallowed  up,  and  at  that  moment  I  sprang  forward,  and 
of  course  the  bridle  was  jerked  out  of  my  hand.  Then  the 
thought  struck  me  that  my  condition  was  worse  than  it  was 
before ;  for  1  had  often  confessed  the  justice  of  God  in  my 
destruction,  and  when  it  was  about  to  be  accomplished  I 
tried  to  hinder  it.  So  I  stood  still  for  a  few  moments,  think¬ 
ing  that  possibly  the  stroke  of  death  would  come.  After 
waiting  a  few  minutes  I  went  back  and  got  the  beast,  feeling 
like  a  poor,  guilty  sinner  indeed.  Soon  after  this,  as  I  was 
goiug  out  to  my  work,  it  was  suggested  to  me,  with  power 
that  arrested  my  whole  attention,  You  have  often  said  that 
when  you  got  ready  you  could  turn  to  the  Lord  and  pray, 
and  be  accepted ;  now  pray.  There  I  stood  for  some  time, 
with  my  guilty  head  hung  down,  acknowledging  the  justice 
of  the  charge;  and  feeling  my  guilty  and  condemned  condi¬ 
tion,  I  tried  to  cease  asking  mercy  at  the  expense  of  justice. 
Still  my  thought  would  be  that  if  there  was  a  way  in  which 
mercy  could  come  and  God  be  just,  Lord,  let  it  come.  Now 
my  hope  of  getting  better,  so  that  the  Lord  would  hear  me 
pray,  was  all  gone ;  but  the  thought  struck  me  that  if  the 
saints  of  God  knew  my  condition,  and  would  pray  for  me, 
the  Lord  might  hear  them.  But  this  cannot  be;  for  I  am  so 
guilty  and  condemned  that  I  dare  not  say  anything  about  it. 


26 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

One  night,  after  we  had  retired  to  bed,  I  introduced  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  prayer  to  my  wife,  hoping  that  if  she  prayed  I  would 
be  remembered  in  her  prayers.  She  said  she  sometimes  tried 
to  pray,  but  it  was  so  weak  that  she  did  not  know  whether 
she  ought  to  call  it  prayer  or  not.  I  greatly  urged  the  duty 
of  prayer,  saying  that  the  Lord  heard  the  prayers  of  the 
righteous,  but  those  of  the  wicked  he  would  not  hear. 

At  this  stage  of  my  trouble  I  had  some  business  to  settle 
in  Putnam  County,  a  distance  of  ten  miles  through  the  wil¬ 
derness  ;  and  on  my  return  home,  just  after  I  crossed  the 
waters  of  Raccoon,  I  began  singing  a  song  with  the  spirit 
and  understanding  that  I  never  possessed  before.  I  have 
previously  spoken  of  my  wife  and  self  singing  a  great  deal 
together.  When  we  went  to  meeting  there  would  be  a  num¬ 
ber  of  songs  sung  by  us,  both  before  and  after  meeting,  at 
the  request  of  the  members,  and  also,  when  we  visited  any 
of  the  neighbors,  singing  would  occupy  a  part  of  the  time  j 
but  now  many  weeks  had  come  and  gone,  and  I  had  not  been 
heard  to  even  hum  a  tune ;  hence  my  wife  had  to  do  her 
singing  alone.  I  will  here  repeat  my  song,  for  it  was  applied 
to  me  as  if  it  had  been  made  for  me : 

“  Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy, 

Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore  ; 

Jesus  ready  stands  to  save  you, 

Full  of  pity,  love  and  power. 

He  is  able, 

He  is  willing ;  doubt  no  more. 

“  Come,  ye  needy  !  come  and  welcome, 

God’s  free  bounty  glorify ; 

True  belief  and  true  repentance, 

Every  grace  that  brings  you  nigh — 


•  JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


27 


Without  money, 

Come  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  buy. 

‘‘Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger, 

Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream; 

All  the  fitness  he  requireth 
Is  to  feel  your  need  of  him. 

This  he  gives  you ; 

v 

’Tis  the  Spirit’s  glimmering  beam. 

“Come,  ye  weary,  heavy  laden, 

Bruised  and  mangled  by  the  fall ! 

If  you  tarry  till  you’re  better 
You  will  never  come  at  all. 

Not  the  righteous — 

Sinners  Jesus  came  to  call. 

“Agonizing  in  the  garden, 

Lo,  our  Savior  prostrate  lies  ! 

On  the  bloody  tree  behold  him ; 

Hear  him  cry  before  he  dies, 

‘It  is  finished !’ 

Sinners,  will  not  this  suffice  ? 

“  Lo,  the  incarnate  God  ascending, 

Pleads  the  merit  of  his  blood  ; 

Venture  on  him,  venture  freely, 

Let  no  other  trust  intrude. 

None  but  Jesus 
Can  do  helpless  sinners  good. 

“  Saints  and  angels,  join'd  in  concert, 

Sing  the  praises  of  the  Lamb ; 

While  the  blissful  seats  of  heaven 
Sweetly  echo  with  his  name. 

Hallelujah ! 

Sinners  here  may  do  the  same.” 

Truly  this  was  the  song  of  songs  to  rne?  for  I  saw  in  my  un¬ 
derstanding  the  truth  of  every  word  expressed  by  the  poet* 


28 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’s  WRITINGS. 

•  • 

and  was  made  to  believe  it,  receive  it,  and  rejoice  in  it;  for 
tliere  was  such  love,  power,  meekness  and  fullness  that  every 
power  of  my  soul  reached  forth,  saying,  O  that  I  could  meet 
a  multitude  of  people,  so  that  I  could  proclaim  the  fullness 
of  the  Lord  Jesus !  Sure  I  am,  if  I  had  met  any  person  or 
persons,  that  I  would  have  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings  of 
salvation ;  for  the  streams  of  glory  were  shining  forth  from 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  I  felt  almost  swallowed  up  in  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  tears  flowing  from  my  eyes  above  anything  I 
ever  witnessed  before.  At  length  I  became  astonished  at 
my  condition,  and  in  a  little  time  I  was  left  to  meditate  on 
the  strange  things  that  had  just  taken  place.  I  now  felt 
calm,  and  my  burden  of  sin  was  gone.  Xow  the  thought 
struck  me  that  1  would  sing  my  song  again,  hoping  to  know 
more  about  the  strange  things  that  had  just  taken  place ; 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  My  mind  then  began  running  in 
travail  to  the  church.  I  would  often  find  myself  in  the  midst 
of  many  people,  trying  to  tell  them  of  the  fullness  and  glory 
of  God ;  but  it  was  only  a  little  time  until  I  thought  I  would 
never  mention  the  strange  things  that  had  taken  place,  lest 
some  one  would  think  I  was  claiming  it  for  a  hope,  and  I  did 
not  wish  to  deceive  anybody  nor  to  be  deceived.  It  con¬ 
tinued  to  dwell  on  my  mind  with  such  great  weight  that  I 
thought  I  must  tell  my  wife ;  but  I  would  tell  her  in  a  cheery 
wav.  so  that  I  would  not  deceive  her.  When  I  got  home  I 
said,  u  Mintia,  I  was  one  of  the  most  foolish  creatures  to-day 
you  ever  saw.  I  was  riding  along,  and  I  began  singing,  and 
the  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  weeping.  It  seemed  like  my 
very  heart  was  weeping,  and  such  a  flood  of  tears  never 
flowed  from  my  eyes.  I  hardly  knew  when  I  commenced, 
nor  did  I  know  how  to  quit.”  She  merely  answered,  u  It  was 


29 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

t 

a  check  of  conscience.*1’  That  did  not  satisfy  me,  neither  do 
I  believe  that  any  person  could  have  satisfied  me.  My  mind 
continued  in  travail  to  the  church,  and  I  did  not  believe  that 
I  had  any  right  to  church  privileges,  so  I  began  trying  to 
pray  the  Lord  to  take  this  spirit  of  travail  that  I  had  to  the 
church  away  from  me,  for  I  was  not  fit  for  the  kingdom;  and 
in  a  short  time  the  Lord  answered  my  prayer,  for  my  mind 
ceased  to  travail  to  the  church,  and  the  circumstance  that 
occurred  in  the  wilderness  while  singing  my  song  was  so 
completely  taken  from  me  that  it  never  entered  my  mind  for 
more  than  twelve  months.  But  when  I  went  to  meeting  and 
heard  the  gospel  proclaimed,  I  would  be  so  carried  away  that 
I  could  not  hide  my  feelings ;  and  the  thought  would  some¬ 
times  occur  to  me,  If  I  did  not  know  the  truth,  why  was  I 
so  affected  ?  I  would  then  conclude  that  I  only  thought  I 
loved  the  truth,  but  Christians  knew  they  loved  it.  I  lived 
in  a  strange  way;  for  my  supposed  strength  to  ingratiate 
myself  into  the  favor  of  God  was  all  gone,  and  the  only  iiope 
I  had  was  that  God  in  his  own  good  time  would  begin  the 
work  and  carry  it  on ;  but  great  fear  would  often  come  that 
it  never  would  be.  It  so  occurred  that  my  wife  and  I  went 
to  brother  West’s  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  when  we  got  there 
old  brother  Martin  and  his  wife  were  there.  That  made  five 
members  of  the  same  church  that  had  met  together,  and  they 
had  a  most  enjoyable  time  in  singing.  They  all  told  their 
exj)erience,  giving  the  reason  of  their  hope  in  Christ.  Then 
old  brother  Martin  said,  u  Friend  Goben,  we  have  all  told 
our  experience,  and  we  would  be  glad  to  hear  you  tell  yours.” 
I  answered,  u  Father  Martin,  I  would  be  as  glad  to  tell  as 
you  would  be  to  hear,  if  I  had  anything  to  tell.”  Here  I 
labored  with  all  my  heart  to  convince  them  that  I  was  void 


30 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


of  any  evidence,  for  so  I  truly  felt  to  be.  After  a  late  liour 
we  all  retired  to  bed,  and  I  dreamed  I  saw  a  tree  standing  in 
the  east,  and  it  was  the  most  singular  tree  I  ever  saw.  It 
was  very  white,  and  for  straightness  it  could  not  be  sur¬ 
passed.  It  reached  toward  the  heavens,  far  above  all  trees, 
and  the  smooth  body  was  of  great  length,  without  knot  or 
limb;  but  near  the  top  there  were  a  few  scattering  limbs, 
exceedingly  white,  and  all  turned  toward  the  heavens.  The 
tree  stood  in  a  meadow  that  belonged  to  me;  and  while  I 
was  viewing  the  singularity  of  the  tree,  some  one  said  to  me, 
u  See  here.’1  I  looked  down  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  and  all 

4 

the  limbs  were  taken  from  it  and  laid  in  a  pile  at  the  root ; 
and  while  I  stood  looking,  and  wondering  with  astonishment, 
to  see  how  few  they  seemed  to  be  when  on  the  tree,  and  how 
great  they  were  when  gathered  together,  it  was  said  to  me, 
“This  is  like  unto  your  hope  in  Jesus.  Though  it  seems 
small  to  you,  when  gathered  together  it  is  great.”  At  that 
moment  I  sprang  straight  up  in  the  bed  with  an  inexpressi¬ 
ble  joy,  to  think  that  I  had  a  hope  in  Jesus.  Every  doubt 
was  removed  for  a  few  minutes,  but  my  ecstasy  of  joy  ceased, 
and  the  thought  ran  through  my  mind  that  it  was  but  a 
dream  ;  so  I  laid  down  and  went  to  sleep.  When  1  arose  the 
next  morning  my  mind  commenced  in  travail  to  the  church, 
and  I  viewed  myself  almost  continually  surrounded  by  many 
people,  and  I  telling  them  the  reason  of  my  hope ;  and  as 
soon  as  I  saw  there  was  no  congregation  about  me  I  would 
say  to  myself,  What  have  you  to  tell  the  people  ?  Nothing, 
but  that  you  have  dreamed  a  dream.  Shame !  shame !  I 
have  often  heard  of  that  dream  religion,  and  there  is  nothing 
in  it  but  delusion ;  and  I  will  not  dare  go  to  meeting  any 
more,  for  I  have  no  control  of  myself.  I  felt  sure  that  if  I 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


31 


got  where  there  was  opportunity,  as  I  could  not  control  my¬ 
self  now,  I  could  not  then.  My  condition  was  most  distress¬ 
ing  ;  for  1  felt  sure  that  if  I  went  to  meeting*,  and  opportunity 
was  offered,  I  would  be  up  and  talking.  This  state  of  mind 
continued  for  at  least  two  weeks,  so  that  1  ate  no  pleasant 
meat,  nor  did  I  have  the  least  gleam  of  hope  that  it  would 
ever  be  any  better.  I  had  a  great  quantity  of  trash  to  clean 
up  in  the  meadow  that  I  have  previously  spoken  of,  where  I 
saw  that  tall,  straight,  white  tree  in  my  dream,  which  gave 
me  such  great  joy  ;  and  in  a  moment  of  time  the  circumstance 
that  had  taken  place  with  me  in  the  wilderness,  on  the  waters 
of  Raccoon,  flowed  into  my  mind  with  fresh  vigor  and  a  joy 
that  is  inexpressible.  In  my  ecstasy  of  joy  I  proclaimed, 
One  thing  I  know,  that  I  saw  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  in  him  an 
inexpressible  fullness.  1  fell  on  my  knees,  and  as  I  had  not 
one  thing  to  ask  for,  I  arose  without  saying  a  word,  for  my 
cup  was  full  and  running  over.  I  remember  when  I  arose  of 
turning  around  and  looking  up  into  the  heavens  until  my  joy 
subsided.  O  wliat  a  calmness  possessed  my  breast !  But  it 
was  not  long  until  I  retired  to  the  woods  to  hunt  some  secret 

V 

place,  to  pray  for  that  heavenly  enjoyment  to  come  again.  I 
traveled  around,  but  found  no  place  secret  enough.  Here  I 
was  left  to  ponder  over  the  strange  way  that  I  had  traveled; 
for  truly  I  had  been  brought  in  a  way  that  I  knew  not.  My 
cup  of  deliverance  had  been  a  mingled  cup,  full  of  both  joy 
and  sorrow;  for  when  I  saw  the  fullness  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  was  ftlled  with  his  love,  and  saw  the  spangled  streams 
of  glory  that  burst  forth  from  his  person,  my  soul  was  over¬ 
whelmed  with  joy,  and  I  was  almost  swallowed  up  in  love; 
but  when  I  saw  his  great  sufferance,  innocence,  humbleness 
and  humility,  my  heart  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow. 


32 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN  S  WRITINGS. 


Hence  I  felt  sure  that  I  was  alone  in  my  travail,  and  there¬ 
fore  had  no  right  to  church  privileges.  My  understanding 
had  been  that  when  any  one  was  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth  it  was  all  joy  and  gladness,  and  no  mingling  of 
sorrow  ;  therefore  I  had  no  right,  for  there  was  none  like  me. 
One  day,  while  riding  along,  I  commenced  singing  this  old 
hymn, 

“With  pleasing  grief  and  mournful  joy 
My  spirit  then  was  filled, 

That  I  should  such  a  life  destroy, 

Yet  live  by  them  1  killed.” 

O  what  a  joy  came  over  me,  to  know  that  I  was  not  alone ! 
The  poet  had  expressed  what  I  saw  and  felt  precisely.  O 
how  I  loved  him  !  If  I  could  meet  him  I  would  take  him  in 
my  arms;  and  if  he  was  dead,  and  I  knew  where  his  grave 
was,  I  would  go  and  expand  my  arms  around  it.  But  my 
trouble  continued.  I  had  often  resorted  to  secret  prayer, 
imploring  the  Lord  to  reveal  to  me,  even  in  a  dream,  whether 
it  was  my  duty  to  be  baptized  or  not ;  and  often  my  dreams 
would  increase  my  distress,  so  that  I  would  say,  with  Job, 
u  Thou  scarest  me  with  dreams.'7  On  one  occasion  I  had 
went  to  mill,  and  did  not  get  back  until  late  in  the  night  ; 
and  while  I  was  doing  up  my  feeding  it  came  into  my  mind 
that  when  I  got  done  feeding  I  would  try  to  pray  the  Lord 
once  more  to  reveal  to  me,  even  in  a  dream,  what  my  duty 
was.  I  finished  my  feeding,  and  got  half-way  from  the  barn 
to  the  house,  when  my  promise  flowed  into  my  mind.  I 
stopped  suddenly,  and  the  first  thought  was,  I  have  tried  so 
often,  and  have  received  nothing,  that  it  is  not  worth  while 
for  me  to  try  again.  The  next  thought  was  that  it  was  better 
not  to  vow  at  all,  than  to  vow  and  not  pay.  I  went  back  to 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


33 


the  barn  and  began  going  up  into  the  haymow ;  and  when  I 
got  about  half-way  up  these  words  flowed  into  my  mind  with 
convincing  power, 

“  Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger, 

Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream  ; 

All  the  fitness  he  require th 
Is  to  feel  your  need  of  him. 

This  he  gives  you ; 

’Tis  the  Spirit’s  glimmering  beam.” 

I  stopped  going  up  as  quickly  as  if  I  had  been  smitten  with 

a  rod,  and  came  down  feeling  guilty  and  ashamed  of  myself, 

and  acknowledging  my  ignorance  before  God  ;  now  seeing 

that  seven  years  ago  he  had  warned  me  in  the  wilderness  in 

these  same  words,  and  I  had  been  praying  more  or  less  to 

dream  of  my  fitness,  which  he  had  warned  me  not  to  do,  and 
* 

at  that  time  had  shown  me  that  all  my  needs  were  supplied 
in  him.  Hence  I  then  felt  strengthened  to  say,  If  the  Lord 
spares  me  until  the  next  meeting,  I  will  relate  my  experience 
to  the  church ;  and  if  not  received,  I  will  bear  the  shame. 
When  the  meeting  day  came  I  went,  and  was  received  for 
baptism  the  next  day.  When  I  went  home  my  wife  said  to 
me,  u  Mr.  Goben,  you  joined  the  church  to  day.”  I  answered, 
u  Yes,  I  did :  and  I  am  greatly  afraid  that  I  have  done 
wrong.”  She  then  said  that  she  knew  I  had  joined,  for  if 
was  made  plain  to  her,  and  she  had  a  heavenly  meeting  at 
home.  But  my  trouble  was  inexpressible,  for  I  viewed  the 
step  that  I  was  about  to  take  to  be  a  momentous  one ;  for  if 
I  was  not  a  fit  subject,  it  would  be  but  a  mockery  of  a  heav¬ 
enly  ordinance,  and  therefore  add  sin  to  sin.  I  arose  and 
walked  out  of  the  house,  with  a  view  to  find  some  secret 

3 


34 


JESSE  J.  GOBEl'  S  WRITINGS. 


place,  and  there  implore  the  Lord  to  forgive  me  if  I  had  done 
wrong,  and  to  hinder  my  baptism  if  I  was  not  a  lit  subject-. 
Mv  wife  seemed  to  understand  my  feelings,  and  my  motive 
for  wanting  to  be  alone,  and  she  walked  out  after  me  and 
locked  Jier  arm  in  mine,  and  would  not  leave  me  alone,  but 
endeavored  to  give  words  of  comfort.  The  night  passed  off 
with  but  little  rest  for  me,  and  my  constant  meditation  was 
that  I  could  not  consent  to  be  baptized  with  my  present  de¬ 
jected  feelings.  But  we  went  to  meeting,  and  Elder  Lee 
preached,  as  I  thought,  with  power  from  on  high.  A  sweet, 
peaceful  submission  came  over  me,  and  it  continually  flowed 
through  my  mind  that  if  1  knew  I  had  but  one  hour  to  live, 
I  would  want  to  be  baptized;  for  although  I  was  unworthy, 
Jesus  was  worthy  to  be  followed  in  all  his  ordinances.  So 
the  ordinance  was  performed  by  Elder  John  Lee;  and  the 
sweet,  peaceful,  heavenly  calm  that  possessed  my  soul  is 
inexpressible.  I  felt  a  love  to  the  brotherhood,  and  to  my 
wife  and  children,  that  I  had  not  realized  before.  Xow  I 
wanted  to  go  from  house  to  house  to  tell  of  the  goodness  and 
mercy  of  God  through  the  merits  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  and 
often  after  my  wife  had  retired  to  bed  my  mind  would  be  so 
agitated,  and  my  breast  so  full,  that  I  would  leave  the  house 
in  order  to  get  relief,  and  travel  on,  preaching  with  great 
enjoyment  and  relief,  being  entirely  unconscious  of  where  I 
was  going;  and  on  some  occasions  I  went  so  far  that  it  was 
difficult  to  find  the  house.  Sometimes  I  would  have  quite  a 
resting  spell,  so  that  the  spirit  of  preaching  would  entirely 
leave  me  for  several  days ;  and  when  I  thought  how  won¬ 
derfully  I  had  been  exercised  in  the  past,  and  how  easy  I 
now  felt,  I  would  feel,  Surely  my  past  troubles  have  all  been 
a  delusion,  and  O  how  glad  I  am  to  find  it  out  before  the 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


35 


yoke  was  put  upon  me.  Now  I  can  go  on  and  labor  for  my 
family,  for  I  am  not  fit  to  preacli.  But  there  is  many  a  poor 
fellow,  as  honest  as  I  am,  that  has  been  caught  under  this 
delusion.  When  in  the  height  of  my  glory  I  would  be  struck 
with  a  convincing  power,  and  all  my  trouble  would  be  upon 
me  again.  I  want  it  to  be  strictly  understood  that  I  had  no 
objection  to  preaching  the  gospel  if  I  had  been  the  man.  It 
■would  often  be  suggested  to  me,  when  I  was  done  talking, 
Now  if  you  can  talk  that  way,  why  not  preach  to  the  people  ? 
I  then  tried  to  remember  what  I  said,  but  the  longer  I  studied 
about  it  the  less  I  knew.  While  I  was  under  this  great  afflic¬ 
tion  of  mind  I  was  taken  with  a  severe  spell  of  typhoid  fever, 
and  became  very  low,  so  that  I  had  to  be  turned  by  pulling 
the  sheet.  •  My  wife  had  just  turned  me  with  my  face  to  the 
front  side  of  the  bed,  and  she  and  our  little  daughter,  about 
five  years  old,  took  their  seats  in  front  of  me,  where  there 
was  a  candle  burning  very  brightly.  There  had  been  almost 
entire  silence  for  a  considerable  time,  when  all  at  once  it  was 
suggested  or  spoken  to  my  understanding  with  unusual 
power,  so  that  it  ran  over  me  with  great  surprise,  It  may  be 
that  the  Lord  has  afflicted  you  because  you  would  not  preach. 
There  I  lay  in  deep  meditation,  pondering  over  the  strong 
impeachment  which  was  waiting  for  my  answer.  At  length 
this  answer  came,  Surely  I  am  not  afflicted  because  I  would 
not  preach,  for  the  Lord  does  know  that  my  family  cannot  do 
without  me.  They  need  all  my  labor.  The  next  thing  I 
knew  I  was  in  eternity,  where  darkness  and  silence  reigned. 
Then  it  was  said  to  me,  u  Now  they  have  to  do  without  you. 
Would  it  not  have  been  better  for  you  to  have  spent  most  of 
your  time  away  from  your  family,  and  been  permitted  to  go 
home  once  in  awhile  to  comfort  and  advise  them  ?  But  now 


36  JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 

it  is  too  late.”  Then  I  was  permitted  to  look  from  eternity 
into  time,  and  see  a  poor  widow  and  her  children  sitting  in 
silent  solitude,  uncared  for,  and  my  disobedience  had  brought 
it  all.  The  God  of  wisdom  can  only  tell  the  billows  of  sor- 
row  and  waves  of  trouble  that  rolled  over  me.  I  verily  be- 

t j 

lieve  that  I  then  experienced  in  substance  the  same  that 
Jonah  did,  and  much  for  the  same  reason,  when  he  pro¬ 
claimed,  u  Out  of  the  belly  of  hell  cried  I  for  disobedience 
was  my  great  trouble.  After  the  above  conflict  I  did  not 
know  for  several  days  that  I  was  in  the  world.  Mv  doctors 
and  all  others  despaired  of  my  recovery,  except  my  wife,  and 
she  hoped  against  hope,  believing  that  I  had  to  preach;  but 
one  night  it  became  a  settled  conclusion  that  I  would  not  live 
to  see  the  light  of  another  day,  and  her  faith  grew  somewhat 
weak.  She  put  on  her  sun-bonnet  and  left  the  house  weep¬ 
ing,  to  incpiire  of  the  Lord  if  she  was  mistaken.  My  brother’s 
wife  followed  her  into  the  loom-house,  where  it  was  very 
dark,  and  heard  her  prayer  to  God  in  my  behalf,  in  which 
she  promised  the  Lord  that  if  he  would  restore  me  to  health, 
and  would  be  her  helper,  no  murmur  nor  complaint  should 
be  heard  from  her,  though  she  should  be  often  left  lonely  and 
desolate.  Brother  Daniel  Lee  also  stepped  to  the  door  and 
heard  her  prayer ;  but  they  both  acted  prudently,  and  did 
not  tell  it  until  after  I  was  liberated  to  preach.  My  fever 
continued,  and  all  understanding  left  me,  so  that  I  did  not 
know  that  I  was  in  the  world  for  several  days :  but  at  length 
my  disease  broke,  and  I  improved  very  fast.  When  I  got  so 
that  1  could  walk  by  holding  to  a  chair  and  slipping  it  on  the 
floor  to  the  fire,  while  my  wife  was  making  up  my  bed,  it 
flowed  into  my  mind  with  power  all  that  the  Lord  had  shown 
me  in  removing  me  from  time  into  eternity,  and  I  burst  out 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


37 


in  a  cry,  which  astonished  my  wife  very  much.  She  stepped 
to  me  in  a  moment,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter;  but  I 
was  so  full  of  cry  that  I  could  not  talk  for  a  few  moments. 
As  soon  as  I  could  speak  I  said,  “  I  will  tell  you  as  quick  as 
I  can.”  So  it  was  but  a  little  time  until  I  related  to  her 
what  1  have  above  spoken  of,  in  relation  to  the  Lord  remov¬ 
ing  me  from  time  to  eternity.  I  now  expressed  to  her  a  will¬ 
ingness  to  go,  and  asked  her  if  she  would  catch  a  beast  for 
me.  She  said  to  me,  “  You  are  not  able  to  go.  If  you  w^ere 
on  a  beast  vou  would  fall  off.  If  you  were  too  rebellious  to 
go  when  you  were  able,  the  Lord  does  not  require  you  to  go 
Avhen  you  are  not  able.  Wait  until  you  are  able,  and  I  have 
not  one  word  to  say.”  But  as  I  increased  in  strength  I  also 
increased  in  opposition  to  go,  so  that  when  I  left  home  on 
business  I  would  secretly  say  farewell,  thinking  quite  likely 
I  would  not  be  permitted  to  return.  At  length  it  came  into 
my  mind  that  the  Scriptures  were  of  God,  and  if  it  was  his 
holy  will  he  could  direct  me  to  some  portion  that  would  give 
me  comfort.  So  I  took  the  book  and  placed  it  on  my  knee, 
and  instead  of  comfort,  the  first  words  I  saw  greatly  re¬ 
proved  me  and  added  to  my  trouble.  It  was  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Numbers,  which  reads  thus,  “And 
Miriam  and  Aaron  spake  against  Moses  because  of  the  Ethi¬ 
opian  woman  whom  he  had  married.”  “And  they  said,  Hath 

*  > 

the  Lord  indeed  spoken  only  by  Moses  ?  hath  he  not  spoken 
also  by  us  ?  And  the  Lord  heard  it.  Now  the  man  Moses 
was  very  meek,  above  all  the  men  which  were  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth.  And  the  Lord  spake  suddenly  unto  Moses,  and 
unto  Aaron,  and  unto  Miriam,  Come  out  ye  three  unto  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation.  And  they  three  came  out. 
And  the  Lord  came  down  in  the  pillar  of  the  cloud,  and  stood 


38 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN7S  WHITINGS. 


in  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  and  called  Aaron  and  Miriam : 
and  they  both  came  forth.  And  he  said,  Hear  now  my 
words:  If  there  be  a  prophet  among  you,  I  the  Lord  will 
make  myself  known  unto  him  in  a  vision,  and  will  speak  unto 
him  in  a  dream.  My  servant  Moses  is  not  so,  who  is  faithful 
in  all  mine  house.  With  him  will  I  speak  mouth  to  mouth, 
even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches ;  and  the  simili¬ 
tude  of  the  Lord  shall  he  behold.77  Here  I  took  up  lamenta¬ 
tion  with  Aaron  and  Miriam.  My  condition. was  like  theirs 
with  one  exception.  They  envied  Moses,  and  greatly  desired 

to  be  God’s  prophets,  coveting  a  station  that  God  had  not 

« 

placed  them  in ;  but  my  great  distress  was  that  I  was  not 
fit.  Consequently  I  often  found  myself  in  argument,  seem¬ 
ingly  face  to  face  with  the  Lord,  laboring  to  convince  him 
that  I  was  not  the  man,  and  that  he  did  know  I  could  not 
preach.  But  as  he  told  them  that  if  they  were  his  prophets 
he  would  have  revealed  it  to  them  in  a  vision,  or  dark  sent¬ 
ence,  or  dream,  and  I  had  often  tried  to  pray  to  the  Lord  to 

reveal  to  me  in  a  dream  what  my  duty  was,  and  he  had  not 

<  • 

answered  me,  even  as  he  had  not  answered  them,  so  our  con¬ 
ditions  were  alike ;  but  if  the  Lord  would  only  manifest  to 
me  as  he  did  to  Moses,  then  my  joy  would  be  full.  O  how 
gladly  I  would  go,  proclaiming  the  riches  of  his  grace !  But 
this  cannot  be,  for  the  day  of  miracles  is  past,  and  I  am  not 
good,  like  Moses  was.  So  I  laid  my  Bible  on  the  fire-boardr 
thinking  I  would  not  take  it  down  any  more,  for  it  condemned 
me  instead  of  giving  comfort.  This  was  on  Sunday  morning, 
and  my  wife  said  to  me,  u  Let  us  go  to  Mr.  Edwards7  to-day. 
We  have  not  been  there  for  a  good  while.77  I  answered,  u  If 
you  want  to  go  we  will  go.77  But  I  would  much  rather  have 
stayed  at  home,  for  I  was  but  little  company  for  any  one,  and 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WHITINGS. 


39 


none  for  myself.  It  was  a  day  of  great  conflict  to  me;  and 
Mrs.  Edwards  increased  my  trouble  greatly  by  saying  in  my 
presence  to  my  wife,  u  Mrs.  Goben,  I  believe  that  Mr.  Goben 
is  thinking  about  preaching.”  We  returned  home  in  the 
evening,  and  my  wife  took  a  seat  in  the  door,  but  I  walked 
to  and  fro  across  the  house,  thinking  of  the  great  set-back 
that  I  got  in  the  morning  by  reading  the  Bible.  At  length 
I  took  the  Bible  and  sat  down  in  the  door  also,  with  the 
prayerful  desire  that  the  Lord  would  cause  it  to  fall  open  in 
some  place,  and  direct  my  eyes  to  some  portion  that  would 
give  me  relief.  It  fell  open  at  the  second  chapter  of  Pro¬ 
verbs,  and  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God 
entered  into  the  words,  and  he  appropriated  it  to  me  and  for 
me,  just  as  much  as  if  he  had  spoken  to  me  from  heaven. 
These  were  the  words,  u  My  son,  if  thou  wilt  receive  my 
words,  and  hide  my  commandments  with  thee;  so  that  thou 
incline  thine  ear  unto  wisdom,  and  apply  thine  heart  to  un¬ 
derstanding;  yea,  if  thou  criest  after  knowledge,  and  liftest 

> 

up  thy  voice  for  understanding ;  if  thou  seekest  her  as  silver, 
and  searchest  for  her  as  for  hid  treasures ;  then  shalt  thou 
understand  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  find  the  knowledge  of 
God.  For  the  Lord  giveth  wisdom  :  out  of  his  mouth  cometh 
knowledge  and  understanding.”  When  I  had  finished  read¬ 
ing  the  above  I  turned  to  my  wife  and  said,  u  Did  you  hear 
that?”  She  said,  u  Yes.”  I  then  read  it  over  again  to  her, 
for  it  was  the  most  life-giving,  soul-cheering,  heart-rejoicing 
reading  that  I  had  ever  read ;  for  now  God  had  spoken  to 
me,  even  apparently  mouth  to  mouth,  as  lie  did  to  Moses, 
calling  me  his  son,  and  telling  me  that  he  gave  wisdom,  and 
out  of  his  mouth  came  knowledge  and  understanding.  All 
the  above  had  come  to  me,  not  in  word  only,  but  in  power, 


40 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WHITINGS. 


and  in  mucli  assurance,  and  in  tlie  Holy  Ghost,  so  that  I 
was  bound  to  say  that  the  day  of  miracles  was  not  over  yet, 
as  I  had  thought ;  for  the  Lord  God  still  reigns  triumphant, 
unfolding  his  grace  and  glory.  Now  I  saw  no  need  of  being 
any  wiser,  which  had  been  my  great  trouble,  for  my  God 
supplied  all  my  wants;  for  there  was  a  stream  coming  from 
the  heavens,  in  the  eyes  of  my  mind,  in  appearance  like  the 
rainbow,  and  it  extended  into  my  breast,  giving  me  such 
fullness  of  grace,  glory  and  joy  that  I  felt  that  my  full  soul 
could  hold  no  more.  The  above  ecstasy  of  joy  took  place  on 
Sunday  evening,  as  above  described,  and  Monday  morning 
I  commenced  plowing  my  little  corn,  continuing  to  preach 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down.  At  length  it  occurred  to 
me  that  it  might  be  that  I  was  not  uncovering  my  corn,  for 
I  knew  that  my  mind  was  not  on  my  work ;  so  I  stopped  my 
beast  and  walked  to  and  fro,  until  I  saw  that  it  was  left  in 
complete  order.  I  continued  plowing  from  end  to  end  of  the 
field,  and  at  length  I  saw  that  I  was  getting  along  so  fast, 
and  the  day  was  very  warm,  that  I  might  overheat  my  beast ; 
so  I  stopped  and  examined,  and  saw  that  all  was  right.  It 
was  then  suggested  to  me,  You  have  often  been  greatly  trou¬ 
bled,  and  desired  to  know  if  it  was  the  work  of  God  with 
you,  as  it  was  with  Paul,  why  were  you  not  obedient  to  the 
heavenly  call,  as  he  was,  and  cease  to  confer  with  flesh  and 
blood?  Was  lie  obedient  until  God  delivered  him?  No. 
Has  he  delivered  you  ?  Yes.  Are  you  willing  and  obedi¬ 
ent  ?  Yes,  Lord,  with  all  my  heart ;  for  God  has  delivered 
me,  and  I  can  do  all  things  that  he  requireth  of  me.  The 
next  suggestion  was  that  next  Saturday  is  church  meeting, 
and  they  will  liberate  you.  “  Yes,”  said  I,  u  and  they  ought 
to  do  it,  for  the  Lord  lias  liberated  me ;  and  they  will  know, 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WHITINGS. 


41 


and  I  will  not  have  to  tell  them  one  word  about  it,  for  the 
mind  of  the  Lord  is  in  his  church. r  The  day  of  meeting  came, 
and  I  went;  and  when  the  i>roper  time  came  brother  West 
arose  and  said,  u  Brethren,  there  is  a  gift  in  this  church  that 
will  be  profitable  to  the  church  if  liberated.  I  mean  brother 
Goben.”  Elder  John  Lee  replied,  u  Brother  Goben  is  here, 
and  can  speak  for  himself.”  I  then  arose,  and  spoke  in  sub¬ 
stance  as  I  have  above  written  of  my  deliverance.  The 
church 4 then  took  up  my  case,  and  licensed  me  to  go  and 
preach  wherever  God  in  his  providence  cast  my  lot.  I  verily 
believed  at  that  time  that  they  had  done  nothing  but  what 
was  their  duty  to  do,  for  the  Lord  had  delivered  me  of  a 
burden  that  had  been  pressing  me  down  for  seven  years;  but 
about  the  time  meeting  was  dismissed  I  began  to  lose  sight 
of  the  glorious  rainbow  that  had  extended  into  me,  above 
spoken  of,  and  before  I  got  home  I  was  praying  to  die ;  for 
it  had  now  gone  out  that  I  was  liberated  to  preach,  which  I 
could  not  do.  I  continued  to  pray  to  die,  until  the  loss  of 
sleep,  the  failure  of  apjmtite  and  distress  of  mind  caused  a 
severe  pain  in  my  breast,  so  that  I  believed  I  would  soon 
die ;  and  as  I  had  prayed  so  fervently  to  die,  and  the  Lord 
was  about  to  answer  my  request,  now  I  was  not  willing  to 
die.  It  seemed  so  dreadful  to  ask  the  Lord  to  let  me  live, 
that  my  condition  was  a  woeful  one.  So  it  went  on  for  one 
whole  year,  and  I  never  attempted  to  preach  a  word ;  but  on 
one  occasion  Elder  Lee  asked  me  to  close  meeting  by  singing 
and  prayer,  and  I  took  the  hymn  book  and  opened  it  at  a 
hymn  that  was  appropriate  to  my  condition,  and  it  reproved 
me  beyond  expression.  I  will  here  give  the  hymn  : 

“  Thou  dear  Redeemer,  God  ! 

With  shame  I  do  confess 


42 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN7S  WRITINGS. 

That  daily  I  deserve  thy  rod 
Because  I  still  transgress. 

“  My  wretched  heart  is  hard, 

And  prone  to  every  ill ; 

My  Father’s  rod  doth  make  me  smart,, 

And  mourn  my  stubborn  will. 

“  I  often  go  astray, 

My  thoughts  I  can't  control ; 

Nor  can  I  find  a  heart  to  pray  * 

While  lifeless  in  my  soul. 

“  I  think  I  do  esteem 
My  brethren  in  the  Lord 
Far  better  than  mvself  indeed, 

And  worthy  my  regard. 

“  They  seem  to  shine  so  bright. 

And  praise  the  Lord  with  zeal, 

And  worship  thee  with  such  delight 
As  I  do  want  to  feel. 

“  With  truth  they  will  not  part, 

And  Christ  is  all  their  theme ; 

Thy  blessed  cause  is  near  their  heart ; 

To  me  they  lovely  seem. 

“  Dear  Lord,  the  work  is  thine, 

The  work  of  grace  begun ; 

My  stubborn  heart  to  thee  incline. 

To  pray,  Thy  will  be  done. 

“  Thy  righteousness  and  grace, 

Good  Lord,  is  all  my  plea ; 

Before  thy  heavenly  Father’s  face, 

Dear  Lord,  remember  me.” 

No  words  could  have  been  more  appropriate  to  me  than  the 
above.  I  read  them  with  trembling  sighs  and  tears,  feeling 
the  deep  chastisement  of  the  Lord,  for  through  the  abund- 


43 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

ance  of  revelation  1  had  been  wafted  on  eagles’  wings ;  but 
now  I  had  to  have  the  thorn  in  the  flesh  to  keep  me  from 

*  '  t 

being  exalted  above  measure,  and  to  teach  me  that  all  my 
strength  was  of  the  Lord,  and  not  of  myself.  When  the  year 
above  spoken  of  had  passed  away  I  took  the  Bible,  as  I  had 
often  done  before,  and  commenced  reading  the  third  chapter 
of  Hebrews,  which  reads  as  follows :  u  Wherefore,  holy  breth¬ 
ren,  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  consider  the  Apostle 
and  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus ;  who  was 
faithful  to  him  that  appointed  him,  as  also  Moses  was  faith¬ 
ful  in  all  his  house.  For  this  man  was  counted  worthy  of 
more  glory  than  Moses,  inasmuch  as  he  who  hath  budded 
the  house  hath  more  honor  than  the  house.  For  every  house 
is  budded  by  some  man ;  but  he  that  built  all  things  is  God. 
And  Moses  verily  was  faithful  in  all  his  house,  as  a  servant, 
for  a  testimony  of  those  things  which  were  to  be  spoken 
after ;  but  Christ  as  a  son  over  his  own  house ;  whose  house 
are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  the  confidence  and  the  rejoicing  of  the 
hope  firm  unto  the  end.”  When  I  had  read  the  above  it 
arrested  my  mind  with  great  weight,  and  with  full  purpose 
of  heart  I  said,  u  If  the  Lord  spares  me  until  the  next  meet¬ 
ing  I  will  take  that  text;  and  if  I  am  able  to  say  anything 
about  it,  it  will  be  of  God,  for  I  know  nothing  about  it.”  So 

,»  f  4  • 

the  time  came,  and  I  read  the  text,  and  I  know  I  had  more 
enjoyment  in  fifteen  minutes,  while  laboring  to  explain  that 
text,  than  I  had  in  all  the  year  that  had  passed;  for  1  had 
been  so  long  overwhelmed  in  darkness  and  sorrow  that  I 
felt  like  I  was  brought  forth  to  the  light  of  a  glorious  day. 
But  my  rejoicing  did  not  remain  long,  for  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting  Elder  Lee  said,  u  There  will  be  meeting  at  sister 
Watkins’  to-night,  and  brother  Goben  will  preach  for  us.’? 


44 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

This  appointment  was  so  unexpected  that  it  fell  on  me  with 
great  weight ;  for  I  had  nothing  beforehand,  and  the  thought 
struck  me,  What  will  I  do  ?  I  am  empty  now,  and  there  is 
not  a  text  in  the  book  that  I  know  anything  about.  But  at 
length  my  mind  was  called  to  the  fifth  and  sixth  verses  of 
the  sixth  chapter  of  Genesis,  which  reads  as  follows :  “And 
God  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 
only  evil  continually.  And  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had 
made  man  on  the  earth,  and  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart.” 
The  time  came  for  meeting,  and  I  went  with  great  fear  and 
trembling.  The  house  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity; 
and  I  vividly  remember,  while  reading  the  text,  that  the 
thought  ran  through  my  mind,  O  that  I  were  standing  on  a 
trap-door,  so  that  I  could  be  let  down  and  be  seen  no  more. 

I  remember  very  little  that  I  said  to  the  text,  but  will  here 
state  what  I  remember : 

First,  it  was  God  who  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man 
was  great  in  the  earth,  but  it  was  the  Lord  that  repented 

*  .  'f  .  .  > 

and  was  grieved  at  heart.  Jesus  is  both  Lord  and  Christ, 
and  was  a  repenting  character  almost  from  the  cradle  to  the  . 
cross.  He  wept  that  we  might  weep  ;  and  we  have  no  record 
of  his  rejoicing  but  once,  and  in  that  he  thanked  his  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  because  he  had  hid  these  things 
from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  had  revealed  them  unto 
babes.  But  God  that  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  underwent 
no  change,  could  not  be  tempted,  neither  did  he  tempt  man. 
The  prophet  Samuel  said,  “  The  Strength  of  Israel  will  not 
repent :  for  he  is  not  a  man,  that  he  should  repent.”  Jesus 
was  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  was  exalted  a 
Prince  and  a  Savior,  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 


45 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  "WRITINGS. 

to  Israel.  He  was  tempted  in  all  points  like  unto  Iris  breth¬ 
ren,  vet  he  was  without  sin. 

The  above  is  in  substance  the  way  I  ran  the  text,  and  I 
felt  then,  as  I  have  felt  since  on  several  occasions,  that  I  had 
done  the  subject  poor  justice  ;  although  I  believed  then,  and 
do  now  believe,  that  as  far  as  I  went  I  gave  the  true  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  text.  I  will  here  state  that  a  young  man  at  this 
meeting,  who  professed  to  be  a  strong  Universalist,  was 
struck  under  conviction,  and  was  made  to  believe  that  he 
was  one  of  the  very  characters  that  had  caused  the  Lord  to 
repent  that  he  had  placed  him  on  earth.  In  about  three 
months  I  spoke  from  the  same  text,  and  this  young  man  was 
delivered  of  his  burden,  and  made  to  rejoice  in  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God  while  the  meeting  was  going  on;  and  he  was 
the  first  person  I  ever  baptized.  There  was  a  very  large 
congregation  came  to  see  the  ordinance  performed,  and  I 
labored  with  all  the  ability  I  had  to  prove  what  it  took  to 
constitute  a  fit  subject,  and  that  immersion  was  the  only 
gospel  mode.  There  was  a  rather  noted  man  of  the  Method¬ 
ist  order  that  showed  a  number  of  the  brethren  on  his  finger 
that  I  did  not  lack  more  than  half  the  breadth  of  his  nail  of 
proving  to  him  that  baptism  by  immersion  was  the  only  gos- 
pel  mode.  So  you  may  see  that  I  came  very  near  making 
one  convert  at  my  first  attempt  ;  but  I  missed  just  a  little. 

The  reader  may  see  that  I  have  run  ahead  of  my  narra¬ 
tive  in  speaking  of  baptizing  the  young  man,  while  as  yet  I 
have  given  no  account  of  my  ordination ;  so  I  will  go  back 
to  where  I  digressed. 

I  continued  to  exercise  in  the  bounds  of  the  church,  and 
it  was  not  more  than  three  months  until  the  Wolf  Creek 
Church  sent  messengers,  asking  permission  of  Walnut  Creek 


4G 


JESSE  J.  G OBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


for  my  services.  This  astonished  me  very  much ;  for  the 
estimate  I  had  put  on  myself  was  so  small  that  it  had  never 
entered  my  mind  that  any  church  would  call  for  my  services 
outside  of  my  membership.  But  it  was  only  a  few  weeks 
until  my  astonishment  was  greatly  increased,  for  the  church 
at  Thorntown  sent  messengers  on  the  same  errand ;  and  it 
was  but  a  few  months  until  the  Pisgah  Church  followed  suit. 
The  God  of  wisdom  alone  can  tell  my  feelings,  the  deep  pov¬ 
erty  and  inadequacy  on  my  part,  and  the  prayerful  desire  in 
behalf  of  the  churches  that  God  would  intercede  in  their  be¬ 
half,  and  send  them  able  defenders  of  the  gospel  of  God. 
Xow  my  time  was  all  taken  up  with  the  church  of  my  mem¬ 
bership  ;  but  on  learning  the  true  state  of  the  Thorntown 
Church,  I  was  greatly  comforted,  for  I  learned  they  had  just 
excluded  their  old  minister  on  a  point  of  order  in  their  church 
discipline.  He  had  strenuously  contended  that  the  church 
should  exclude  a  member  on  the  testimony  of  one  witness ; 
that  is,  if  one  member  brought  a  charge  against  another,  he 
should  be  believed,  though  there  be  no  preponderance  in  the 
testimony.  Now  what  gave  me  comfort,  I  had  inquired  into 
the  character  of  the  minister  that  thev  had  excluded,  and 
learned  from  them  that  they  had  been  well  satisfied  with  him 
before  this  trouble;  and  I  fancied  the  case  was  so  plain  that 
I  could  reclaim  him,  for  the  Lord  had  said  in  his  word  that 
one  should  not  be  put  to  death  but  by  the  testimony  of  two 
or  three  witnesses.  The  time  came,  and  I  went  to  the  meet¬ 
ing  in  great  hope,  believing  it  was  the  last  trip  that  I  would 
have  to  take ;  for  I  felt  sure  that  1  could  reclaim  him  to  the 
fellowship  of  his  brethren,  and  save  myself  a  twenty-five  mile 
ride,  and  the  church  would  have  an  abler  minister  than  I 
dared  claim  to  be.  When  I  got  there  this  excluded  minister 


47 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

was  there.  His  name  was  Walter  Leak.  He  appeared  very 
sociable,  and  after  meeting  invited  me  home  with  him.  This 
was  just  to  my  hand,  and  increased  my  faith  that  I  should 
be  able  to  accomplish  my  purpose.  Dinner  being  over,  he 
began  giving  me  a  history  of  the  trouble ;  but  the  more  he 
said  the  weaker  I  got  in  being  able  to  accomplish  anything, 
for  he  perfectly  justified  himself,  but  almost  everybody  else 
was  wrong.  My  head  got  lower  and  lower,  and  my  mouth 
was  closed,  seeing  he  was  pure  in  his  own  eyes.  He  went 
on  to  state  that  he  had  prayed  to  God  to  know  if  he  was 
right,  and  he  had  got  a  perfect  answer  of  peace.  He  also 
told  me  a  dream  that  he  had,  and  he  interpreted  the  dream 
in  his  own  favor,  while  I  thought  it  was  all  against  him. 
This  was  the  dream :  He  was  traveling,  and  he  came  to  a 
stream,  and  in  the  stream  he  saw  a  red  heifer.  She  started 
down  stream,  and  he  followed  her  a  great  way.  At  last  he 
lost  sight  of  her,  and  then  he  turned  back.  He  interpreted 
the  red  heifer  to  be  the  church,  and  he  had  followed  her  until 
she  had  went  so  far  astray  that  he  had  turned  back.  My 
interpretation  was  that  the  heifer  was  a  brute  beast.  Her 
color  was  red,  which  signified  blood,  and  the  blood  is  the  life 
of  the  flesh ;  and  he  had  followed  his  own  delusions  until  he 
had  conspired  his  own  death. 

The  above  interview  with  the  Elder  was  on  Saturday 
evening.  ISext  day  there  was  a  good  turn-out  for  a  thinly 
settled  country,  and  we  had  a  very  pleasant  meeting,  and 
perhaps  there  were  not  less  than  twenty-five  who  stayed  for 
dinner.  I  ate  and  saddled  my  beast  before  the  first  table 
was  half-done  eating,  and  sister  Polly  Kogers  came  to  the 
•door  and  asked  me  to  wait  a  little,  for  she  said  sister  Long 
would  be  going  my  road  as  soon  as  she  finished  her  dinner. 


48 


JESSE  J.  GrOBEX'S  WBITIXGS. 


The  members  were  all  strangers  to  me,  with  slight  exception, 
but  I  waited  for  sister  Long.  We  had  ridden  together  but 
a  little  distance  when  she  said,  u  Brother  Goben,  you  have 
had  an  interview  with  brother  Leak ;  what  do  you  think  of 
the  course  the  church  has  pursued  with  him  ?  Has  she  done 
right  or  not  V7  I  was  silent  for  a  moment,  for  the  question 
was  a  leading  one,  and  if  answered,  yes  or  no  must  be  the 
answer.  I  had  learned  there  had  been  some  small  division 
in  the  church,  and  I  did  not  know  where  sister  Long  stood, 
and  the  thought  of  getting  into  a  controversy  with  a  strange, 
sister  was  unpleasant  to  me  ;  but  at  length  I  said,  u  Sister, 
he  is  precisely  where  he  ought  to  be ;  and  if  he  gets  to  see 
his  wrong,  and  makes  a  humble  acknowledgement,  doubtless- 
the  church  will  reinstate  him.*1  She  then  said,  u  Brother 

Goben,  you  are  of  my  opinion.”  So  her  answer  was  very 

■ 

pleasant  to  me.  I  continued  to  attend  that  church  for 
twentv-five  years,  and  the  Wolf  Creek  Church  about  the 
same  length  of  time.  After  I  had  been  exercising  amongst 
the  churches  a  little  above  a  year  my  ordination  was  called 
for.  This  made  a  solemn  impression  on  me,  and  caused 
great  engagement  of  mind  in  prayer  to  God  that  he  would 
hinder  my  ordination  if  it  ought  not  to  be ;  but  the  solemn 
scene  went  on.  There  was  but  one  question  asked  me,  and 
that  was,  u  What  is  it  that  gives  the  saints  a  right  or  title  to 
heaven  !”  My  answer  was,  u  Heirship.”  And  I  have  no 
other  answer  vet. 

i/ 

I  continued  to  attend  the  four  churches  previously  spo¬ 
ken  of,  and  would  often  have  great  liberty,  and  feel  wonder¬ 
fully  built  up.  Then  a  reverse  would  come,  and  I  would  be 
brought  as  low  as  I  had  been  high,  and  would  feel  in  my 
heart  and  soul  that  I  was  a  poor,  little  nobody,  going  some- 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


49 


where  to  say  nothing.  O  what  engagement  of  mind  there 
would  be  to  God  that  he  would  comfort  his  people !  After 
I  had  been  laboring  in  the  ministry  about  four  years  my 
mind  was  arrested  with  inexpressible  anxiety  that  the  Lord 
would  open  up  some  way  that  I  could  cpiit  preaching;  for  I 
was  doing  no  good,  and  the  Lord  would  save  as  many  people 
if  I  never  preached  one  word  as  he  would  if  I  preached  all 
the  days  of  my  life.  This  state  of  mind  followed  me  for  many 
weeks  by  day  and  by  night,  with  prayerful  desire  that  the 
Lord  would  intervene,  and  cause  the  yoke  to  be  taken  off,  so 
that  I  could  consistently  quit ;  then  I  could  labor  for  my 
family  and  do  some  good.  I  remember  that  on  Friday  night 
my  wife  had  a  dream  as  follows :  She  saw  me  in  my  coffin. 
I  was  not  dead,  but  the  paleness  of  death  was  upon  me,  and 
I  was  the  most  disconsolate,  lonesome  being  she  ever  saw, 
continually  begging  her  to  stay  with  me,  and  not  to  leave 
me,  for  I  could  not  bear  her  to  be  out  of  my  sight  for  one 
moment.  My  Bible  was  hung  up  before  me,  just  so  that  I 
could  not  reach  it.  The  next  morning  she  related  h^r  dream 
to  me  with  great  weight  of  mind,  and  said,  u  Mr.  Goben,  you 
are  going  to  be  stopped  from  preaching  for  a  great  while  if 
you  ever  preach  any  more,  for  I  saw  it  all  in  my  dream  last 
night.*7  I  started  to  the  Thorntown  Church  Saturday  morn¬ 
ing  as  well  as  usual,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  and  as 
I  was  coming  home  Sunday  evening  my  affliction  came  upon 
me,  and  I  felt  like  I  could  not  hold  out  to  get  home,  ft  hurt 
me  so  bad  in  both  of  my  sides  to  ride,  that  w  hen  I  got  within 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  home  I  got  dowTn  off'  my  beast  to 
Avalk.  I  looked,  and  saw  my  wife  coming  to  meet  me,  some¬ 
thing  she  never  did  before  nor  since.  When  she  met  me  she 

4 


30 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


said,  u  I  am  not  surprised.  I  felt  sure  you  would  come  home 
sick.'’  So  she  sent  for  Doctor  Parson,  and  he  continued  to 
come;  but  my  disease  was  a  mystery  to  him — lie  could  not 
fathom  it.  He  often  said  that  he  would  giye  live  hundred 
dollars  to  know  what  was  the  matter.  I  knew  what  com¬ 
plaint  I  had,  but  neither  the  doctor  nor  myself  had  any 
remedy,  for  it  was  the  rod  of  the  Lord  for  my  disobedience. 

t/  /  C/ 

I  had  been  long  praying  tor  the  Lord  to  open  some  way  for 
me  to  quit  preaching,  but  he  had  answered  my  prayers  in  a 
way  I  was  not  looking  for;  and  now  it  was  continually  ring¬ 
ing  in  my  mind,  “  Xow  you  can  quit!  now  you  can  quit!” 
And  also  these  words,  “  He  has  comforted  others,  himself  he 
cannot  comfort.”  These  last  words  ran  through  my  mind  so 
long  that  a  wonder  arose  in  my  mind  if  it  was  Scripture,  and 
I  said  to  my  wife,  “  Mintia,  I  would  like  to  have  the  Bible.” 
She  answered,  “  The  doctor  told  me  to  put  the  books  away  ; 
that  you  must  not  read  any  until  you  get  better.”  I  said 
nothing,  but  the  first  time  she  went  out  of  the  house  I  crept 
to  the  bureau  and  got  the  Bible,  and  the  first  words  I  saw 
were  these,  “He  has  comforted  others,  but  himself  he  cannot 
comfort/'  O  solemn  truth  !  Who  would  remain  in  trouble 
if  they  could  comfort  themselves  ?  I  was  one  of  the  most 
disconsolate  creatures  on  earth.  O  how  I  promised  the  Lord, 
if  lie  would  restore  me  once  more,  that  I  would  never  mur¬ 
mur  again;  but  I  was  left  to  meditate  on  the  many  super¬ 
natural  manifestations  to  me,  and  felt  constrained  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  the  justice  of  God  in  my  affliction.  The  dream  of 
my  wife  above  spoken  of  was  verified,  for  I  could  not  bear 
for  her  to  go  out  of  my  sight.  We  had  a  fine  chance  of  good 
peaches,  and  they  all  had  to  go  to  loss;  for  if  they  had  been 
worth  ten  times  as  much  I  would  not  have  been  willing  for 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


51 


her  absence  that  they  might  be  saved.  At  length  the  doctor 
said  it  was  not  worth  while  for  him  to  continue  to  come,  for 
he  could  do  me  no  good ;  but  lie  would  call  in  passing,  to  see 
how  I  was.  I  have  said  that  my  wife  was  warned  in  a  dream 
•of  my  sore  affliction,  which  came  upon  me  just  according  to 
the  dream.  When  I  had  suffered  enough  for  my  rebellion 
against  the  Lord,  he  caused  her  to  dream  another  dream  for 
my  restoration,  which  was  as  follows:  A  strange  person 
came  to  the  side  of  our  bed  and  said  to  her,  “Your  husband 
will  never  get  well  under  the  present  treatment ;  but  I  can 
cure  him.”  She  looked  at  him,  and  took  his  description  most 
minutely.  He  then  turned  from  the  bed  and  walked  out  of 
the  house,  her  eyes  following  him  as  long  as  she  could  see 
him.  He  was  a  very  straight,  tidy-looking  man,  with  blue 
eyes  and  fair  hair.  He  had  on  light  pants,  a  mixed  coat, 
and  a  white  bell-crown  hat.  He  was  a  stranger  to  us  both, 
for  neither  of  us  had  ever  seen  him  before.  The  next  morn¬ 
ing  she  told  me  her  dream,  and  seemed  greatly  encouraged 
and  much  elated,  and  went  on  to  say  that  she  wanted  me  to 
go  with  her  to  town  to-day  and  see  if  we  could  find  that  man, 
for  she  would  know  him  if  she  could  see  him.  She  went  on 
to  say  that  she  did  not  know  whether  he  went  to  Crawfords- 
ville  or  to  Ladoga :  but  “  we  will  go  to  Crawfordsville  first, 
and  if  we  do  not  find  him  there  we  will  go  to  Ladoga  ;  /or  I 
will  never  be  satisfied  until  we  go.”  I  said  I  did  not  want  to 
go,  for  doctors  could  not  save  my  life ;  and  I  had  doctored 
until  I  was  tired  doctoring,  and  was  not  able  to  go.  She 
answered  that  she  did  not  think  they  could  prolong  my  life, 
but  they  might  make  me  more  comfortable  while  I  did  live. 
She  knew  I  was  not  able  to  go,  but  she  would  have  the  little 
boys  hitch  the  horses  to  the  wagon,  and  she  would  put  a  bed 


52  JESSE  J.  G0BE2s?S  YTRITIXGS. 

% 

in  it,  and  help  me  in  and  cover  me  up,  and  she  could  drive, 
and  when  I  was  in  I  could  not  get  out  without  help  ;  and  she 
wanted  me  to  go  for  her  satisfaction,  for  she  never  would  be 

i 

satisfied  until  we  went.  So  I  reluctantly  went,  though  the 
snow  was  deep  and  the  weather  exceedingly  cold.  YTe  need 
not  go  to  any  of  the  doctors  we  knew,  for  the  dream  said 
that  neither  of  us  had  ever  seen  him,  and  there  were  but  two 
doctors  in  town  that  we  had  not  both  seen ;  one  was  Doctor 
Wiley,  and  the  other  was  Doctor  Benage.  We  first  drove  to 
Doctor  Wiley’s,  but  he  was  gone  to  Ohio.  This  greatly 
troubled  me,  for  I  thought  likely  he  was  the  man  that  my 
wife  would  think  she  dreamed  of,  and  it  would  cause  another 
trip  to  satisfy  her,  and  it  was  a  great  burden  to  me  to  think 
of  having  to  come  again ;  but  she  asked  where  Doctor  Ben- 
age’s  office  was,  and  they  pointed  it  out.  She  drove  to  the 
door  and  got  out,  and  partly  opened  the  door,  and  saw  a 
small  man  sitting  there  that  did  not  answer  the  description 
of  her  dream ;  so  she  turned  her  face  to  me  and  said,  “  This 
is  not  the  place,”  and  pulled  the  door  shut.  She  turned 
again  and  said,  “Are  you  the  man  of  the  house  V7  The  young 
man  answered,  “No,  maam;  Mr.  Benage  has  walked  out. 
Do  you  want  to  see  him  ?”  “  Y^es,  sir.”  “  Come  in  and  take 

a  seat  by  the  stove,  and  I  will  hunt  him  up.”  So  she  helped 
me  out  of  the  wagon  and  we  went  in.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
heard  footsteps  at  the  door,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  we 
were  looking  with  all  anxiety  to  see  the  man  that  had  been 
dreamed  of;  and  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  door  my  wife 
said,  “  That  is  the  man.”  I  could  not  deny  it,  for  there  he 
was,  just  as  her  dream  had  described  him,  with  his  fair  com¬ 
plexion,  blue  eyes,  light  pants,  mixed  coat,  and  white  bell- 
crown  hat ;,  and  it  made  a  strange  sensation  run  over  me.. 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN7S  WRITINGS. 


53 


She  said,  UI  have  come  to  see  if  you  can  tell  what  is  the 
matter  with  my  husband.7’  I  said,  u  Yes,  Doctor,  I  am  like 
the  poor  Syrophenician  woman ;  I  have  spent  all  I  had  with 
physicians,  and  have  got  no  better.  I  do  not  want  you  to 
flatter  me.  If  you  can  do  me  any  good,  say  so ;  if  not,  let 
me  alone.77  After  examining  me  he  said,  “I  will  give  you  a 
course  of  medicine,  and  charge  you  two  dollars  and  a  half. 
When  you  have  taken  it,  if  you  feel  as  well  as  you  could 
expect,  knowing  that  you  have  been  going  down  for  a  year, 
you  need  not  come  back  again ;  otherwise  come  back,  and  I 
will  give  you  another  course  of  medicine.77  So  I  went  home 
somewhat  encouraged ;  but  I  was  so  swollen  in  my  bowels 
that  it  took  a  four-inch  string,  tied  in  the  button-holes,  to 
fasten  my  pants.  I  took  the  medicine,  and  in  forty-eight 
hours  was  as  well  as  I  have  ever  been  since,  except  my  weak¬ 
ness. 

How  if  the  reader  can  explain  the  dreams  on  any  other 
principle  than  that  of  supernatural,  it  is  his  privilege  to  do 
so ;  but  to  me,  who  had  to  realize  their  fulfillment,  it  was  of 
great  weight.  O  how  I  cried  to  the  Lord  for  deliverance, 
while  the  waves  and  billows  of  sorrow  came  over  me !  I  felt 
that  I  had  sunk  in  deep  mire,  where  there  was  no  standing, 
and  my  own  rebellion  had  brought  it  all  upon  me ;  and  if  the 
Lord  would  have  mercy  and  forgive  me,  I  never  would  mur¬ 
mur  again,  for  my  privileges  had  been  great,  How  I  was 
low  in  the  valley  oT  despair,  and  no  evidence  that  it  would 
be  otherwise ;  but  the  miracle  was  performed,  and  I  was  re¬ 
stored  to  health,  and  I  never  have  since  prayed  to  be  relieved 
from  preaching.  * 

In  a  short  time  I  resumed  my  attendance  to  the  churches. 
About  four  years  after  the  above  affliction  I  was  going  to  the 


-> 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


54 

Tlioratown  Church.  The  distance  being  about  twenty-five 
miles,  I  commonly  went  some  eight  or  ten  miles  on  Friday  j 
but  on  this  occasion  I  was  very  much  crowded  with  my  work,, 
so  I  concluded  to  wait  until  Saturday  morning,  and  rise  early,, 
and  thereby  save  time.  When  night  came  I  retired  to  bed,, 
feeling  very  tired,  and  the  thought  struck  me  with  great  force 
that  perhaps  I  would  not  awake  in  time  to  go.  So  I  laid 
troubling  over  the  matter  a  good  bit,  rather  blaming  myself 
because  I  had  not  gone  as  usual ;  but  at  length  the  thought 
struck  me  with  great  comfort  that  if  I  did  not  awake  in  time 
to  go  I  would  take  it  for  granted  that  it  was  not  necessary 
for  me  to  go.  So  I  went  to  sleep  as  peacefully  as  I  ever  did 
in  my  life,  leaving  the  event  to  the  Lord,  not  caring  which 
way  it  should  be.  In  the  morning,  between  three  and  four 
o’clock,  I  saw  a  poor  worm  lying  curled  up  in  a  passive,  un- 
conscious  condition,  and  I  felt  a  great  sympathy  for  it.  I 
also  saw  a  staff  coming  down  from  the  heavens,-  and  though 
it  was  small,  it  was  of  great  weight.  It  continued  to  come 
down,  until  it  slowly  settled  on  the  worm  and  crushed  it  to 

death.  While  I  was  looking  with  great  admiration,  the 

* 

prophet  Jeremiah  came  and  seated  himself  by  my  side,  and 
said,  u  Prophesy,  and  say,  Hear,  O  worm,  the  word  of  the 
Lord.”  1  replied,  u  Let  the  Lord  speak,  and  it  will  be  done.” 
He  again  said,  u  Prophesy,  and  say,  Hear,  O  worm,  the  word 
of  the  Lord.”  I  again  said,  u  Only  let  the  Lord  speak;  there 
is  power  in  his  word.”  He  repeated  it  the  third  time.  I 
then  come  over  his  words,  and  the  staff  began  rising  slowly 
from  the  worm,  life  fully  returned  to  it,  and  it  began  squirm¬ 
ing.  I  was  sleeping  at  the  back  side  of  the  bed,  behind  my 
wife,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew  I  landed  on  the  floor,  some 
seven  or  eight  feet  from  where  I  was  lying,  with  feelings  that 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS.  55 

I  have  not  now  nor  ever  have  had  language  to  fully  describe. 
Every  nerve  was  excited  to  its  utmost  capacity,  so  that  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  I  put  on  my  clothes ;  for  I  had  just 
been  in  the  presence  of  a  heavenly  messenger  sent  from  God. 
and  in  conversation  with  him,  who  was  sent  on  an  embassy 
to  me,  a  poor  worm,  who  was  lying  in  a  death-like  posture, 
unconscious  of  all  surrounding  circumstances,  that  I  might 
pursue  my  journey  in  due  time.  Truly  I  felt  that  the  Lord 
was  mindful  of  me.  So  I  went  on  my  way  rejoicing,  praying, 
preaching,  and  giving  thanks  with  unusual  liberty.  While 
I  now  write,  though  it  has  been  a  number  of  years  past,  the 
truth  of  the  circumstance  arrests  me  with  great  power,  and 
calls  my  mind  back  to  the  circumstance  of  the  prophet  Daniel 
and  John  the  evangelist,  when  the  Lord  God  sent  messen¬ 
gers  of  their  brethren  from  heaven  to  instruct  and  comfort 
them,  and  the  interview  was  so  glorious  that  they  desired  to 
worship  them  5  but  they  forbade  it,  saying,  U1  am  of  thy 
brethren,  and  of  thy  fellow- servants ;  worship  God.”  I  will 
here  give  a  description  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah.  He  was  a 
large,  robust  man,  clothed  in  white.  His  pants  reached  to 
his  knees,  with  long  stockings.  His  head  was  white  as  wool, 
and  his  countenance  was  beautiful  and  grave.  It  was  all 
real  to  me  then,  and  remains  the  same  to  this  day. 

I  will  here  make  a  statement  of  an  interview  I  had  with 
a  minister  of  the  New  Light  order  at  the  Tliorntown  Church, 
some  thirty  odd  years  ago.  It  was  the  greatest  sleet  I  ever 
saw.  He  had  started  to  Frankfort  on  Friday,  and  that  night 
this  wonderful  sleet  came  on,  and  his  beast  was  barefooted. 
He  came  leading  it  up  to  the  house  where  the  meeting  was 
held,  and  asked  liberty  to  stay  until  he  could  travel.  His 
request  was  granted,  and  he  stayed  until  he  heard  two  dis- 


56 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’s  WHITINGS. 


courses.  After  meeting  was  over  he  said,  if  it  would  not 
give  offense,  he  would  like  to  tell  me  how  my  preaching 

sounded  to  him.  I  told  him  to  go  on  and  speak  his  mind 

% 

freely,  that  it  would  give  no  offense  ;  for  a  religion  that  would 
not  bear  scrutiny  was  not  worth  possessing ;  that  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  me  for  persons  to  ask  questions,  and  if  I  could 
answer  them,  all  right ;  but  if  I  could  not,  it  only  showed 
that  I  had  no  light  on  the  subject.  He  commenced  by  say¬ 
ing  that  he  would  use  a  figure  of  two  fields,  one  on  the  right 
hand  and  the  other  on  the  left.  He  would  take  the  right 
hand  field,  and  the  left  was  mine.  When  Spring  came  he 
would  break  his  ground,  but  I  would  not  break  mine,  but 
would  say  that  if  it  was  to  be  broken  it  would  be  broken. 
When  planting  time  came  he  would  plant,  but  I  would  not, 
but  would  say  that  if  it  was  to  be  planted  it  would  be  plant¬ 
ed.  When  tending  time  came  he  would  tend,  but  I  would 
not,  but  would  continue  to  say  that  if  it  was  to  be  tended  it 
would  be  tended.  So  he  said  that  when  gathering  time  came 
he  would  have  a  crop,  but  I  would  have  none.  When  he 
got  through  his  illustration  he  seemed  much  elated,  as  if  he 
had  a  strong  argument  that  could  not  be  overthrown ;  but  I 
said  to  him,  u  Can’t  you  see  that  when  your  figure  is  rightly 
applied  it  all  belongs  to  me,  and  you  have  no  use  for  it  ? 
For  Adam  was  the  husbandman,  and  the  garden  was  passive 
in  his  hands.  It  could  not  cultivate  itself;  and  Jesus  said, 
‘I  am  the  true  Vine,  and  my  Father  is  the  Husbandman.’ 
Therefore  the  Lord  must  work  in  his  vineyard,  or  it  will  all 
come  to  naught,  for  it  has  no  life  in  itself,  either  natural  or 
spiritual,  but  a  given  life;  therefore  it  is  passive  in  the  hands 
of  the  husbandman.  If  you  were  to  see  your  system  carried 
into  effect  you  coukl  not  bear  the  sight — I  believe  you  would 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


57 


faint ;  for  you  would  see  limbs  lopping  off  limbs,  and  limbs 
inserting  limbs  into  limbs,  in  order  to  make  themselves  better, 
which  would  be  an  effect  without  a  cause,  and  you  could  not 
bear  the  sight.  But  let  the  literal  husbandman  work  in  his 
vineyard,  and  the  spiritual  man  in  his,  and  all  is  easy  and 
plain.”  The  minister  seemed  dumbfounded;  and  though  he 
stayed  some  twelve  hours  after  this  conversation,  he  had  no 
more  to  say. 

I  will  here  give  a  discourse  preached  in  the  year  1859  on 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  under  the  following  circum¬ 
stances  :  Edward  Hered,  a  non-resurrection  minister,  held  a 
meeting  in  the  neighborhood  of  churches  that  I  was  attend¬ 
ing,  and  he  made  a  request  of  several  of  the  brethren  that  I 
should  meet  him  on  a  certain  day,  and  each  of  us  preach  our 
views  on  the  resurrection.  The  brethren  said  they  had  no 
objection,  if  I  was  willing ;  but  when  I  got  the  word  I  was 
under  promise  to  the  Union  Church  that,  with  no  providen¬ 
tial  hindrance,  I  would  be  with  them ;  so  I  could  not  accept 
his  proposition.  But  Elder  Hered  was  there,  and  a  large 
congregation  to  hear  him ;  and  he  threw  out  some  strong 
insinuations  against  persons  holding  to  doctrine  that  they 
were  not  able  to  defend.  When  I  heard  of  his  boasting  I 
sent  him  a  letter,  stating  the  reason  why  I  had  not  met  him. 
I  also  informed  him  that  if  all  he  wanted  was  to  preach  his 
sentiments  on  the  resurrection,  and  he  desired  me  to  follow 
him  and  give  my  views  on  the  same,  I  would  accommodate 
him.  He  accepted,  and  appointed  the  place  two  miles  south 
of  Thorntown,  at  a  large  Missionary  Baptist  meeting-house. 
On  the  morning  of  our  meeting  he  sent  two  of  his  brethren 
down  on  my  road  to  meet  me,  and  to  make  a  request  that  we 
should  not  pick  at  each  other’s  preaching.  1  told  them  I 


58 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


had  no  thought  of  picking  at  him,  but  simply  to  give  my  own 
views.  We  met,  and  I  was  given  an  introduction  to  him,  for 
we  only  knew  each  other  by  reputation.  I  then  made  a  re¬ 
quest  of  him  that  we  limit  ourselves  to  one  hour  and  a  half 
each ;  but  he  objected,  and  would  not  be  limited.  I  then 
told  him  I  had  heard  people  say  that  to  be  preached  to  death 
was  a  hard  death ;  and  if  we  could  not  establish  our  views  in 
that  time,  we  would  fail  to  establish  them  at  all.  “  But  you 
may  go  on  and  speak  as  long  as  you ‘please;  one  hour  and  a 
half  will  do  me.”  So  he  commenced  the  service,  to  a  very 
large  and  attentive  congregation.  There  were  a  number  of 
persons  from  four  different  counties.  I  do  not  remember  the 
text  he  quoted,  but  I  do  remember  the  course  he  pursued. 
He  went  on  and  quoted  every  text  relative  to  the  resurrec¬ 
tion  of  the  dead  except  two,  and  did  not  attempt  to  give  any 
explanation,  but  barely  quoted  them,  and  left  them  without 
comment.  The  two  that  he  did  not  quote  were  so  pointed 
against  his  doctrine  that  doubtless  he  did  not  wish  to  re¬ 
hearse  them.  One  is  in  the  book  of  Job  xix.  25-27 :  “I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter 
day  upon  the  earth :  and  though  after  my  skin  worms  de¬ 
stroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God :  whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not 
another;  though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me.”  The 
other  text  can  be  found  in  Mark  xii.  20,  and  also  in  Luke, 
where  the  Sadducees  were  tempting  Christ  by  asking  him 
whose  wife  a  certain  woman  would  be  in  the  resurrection 
that  had  been  the  wife  of  seven  husbands.  Jesus  answered 
them,  “Do  ye  not  therefore  err,  because  ye  know  not  the 
Scriptures,  neither  the  power  of  God  I  For  when  they  shall 
rise  from  the  dead,  they  neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


59 


marriage ;  but  are  as  the  angels  which  are  in  heaven.”  The 
Elder  occupied  two  hours,  but  failed  to  establish  his  system ; 
but  in  closing  he  gave  out  a  song  by  memory,  that  either 
himself  or  some  of  his  brethren  had  composed  to  harmonize 
with  his  doctrine,  and  some  of  the  congregation  helped  him 
sing  it.  This  gave  me  trouble  for  a  moment,  for  I  felt  that 
I  was  unprepared  with  a  song  to  defend  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  I  had  to  arise  as  soon  as  his  song  ended ;  but 
in  a  minute  or  two  a  beautiful  hymn  on  that  subject  flowed 
into  my  mind,  which  caused  a  glad  feeling  to  come  over  me. 
When  his  hymn  ended  I  arose  and  quoted  a  text  in  First 
Corinthians  xv.  20-24 :  u  But  now  is  Christ  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  For 
since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection 

A  r  , 

of  the  dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall 
all  be  made  alive.  But  every  man  in  his  own  order :  Christ 
the  first  fruits ;  afterward  they  that  are  Christ’s  at  his  com¬ 
ing.  Then  cometh  the  end.”  My  text  having  been  quoted, 
the  first  remark  was  that  if  the  Elder  had  quoted  any  wit¬ 
ness  from  the  Bible  before  this  congregation  that  proved  the 
non-resurrection  of  this  mortal  body,  they  ought  to  believe 
it,  for  it  was  of  God;  and  as  sure  as  he  has  proved  his  sys¬ 
tem,  I  will  fail  to  prove  a  resurrection,  for  the  Bible  does  not 
contradict  itself ;  but  if  he  failed,  I  may  chance  to  find  some. 
Now  I  have  a  question  to  ask  you,  Elder  Hered,  before  I 
proceed.  Have  you  any  evidence  in  the  Bible  that  God  will 
destroy  or  annihilate  his  own  image?  He  sat  dumb.  I  ap¬ 
pealed  to  him  again,  saying,  u  I  have  asked  you  a  fair  ques¬ 
tion.”  He  still  remained  dumb.  1  then  said,  u  1  will  not 
move  one  peg  until  I  get  an  answer,  for  the  question  is  a  fair 
one ;  you  can  either  say  yes  or  no.”  He  then  spoke  out,  say- 


GO 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


in g,  “No,  lie  will  not.”  “There,”  said  I,  “I  am  glad  my 
task  is  an  easy  one ;  for  I  came  to  contend  that  there  was  no 
evidence  in  the  Bible  that  God  would  destroy  his  own  image 
and  likeness,  and  my  worthy  opponent  says  that  he  will  not ; 
therefore  there  is  no  argument  between  us.”  I  then  took  up 
my  text  and  commented  on  it  as  best  I  could.  I  cannot  now 
rehearse  all  that  I  then  said,  but  I  still  remember  my  con¬ 
cluding  remarks,  which  were  as  follows :  That  sin  was  the 
cause  of  death,  and  Christ  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself.  The  cause  being  put  away,  must  secure  the  discon¬ 
tinuance  of  the  effect.  Sin  being  put  away,  death  is  de¬ 
stroyed,  and  the  resurrection  must  follow.  The  evidence 
given  of  Jesus  having  put  away  sin  was  by  his  personal 
resurrection  from  the  dead;  that  as  he  arose  the  first  begot¬ 
ten  from  the  dead,  and  the  first  ripe  fruits  of  them  that  slept, 
so  all  for  whom  Jesus  died  and  rose  again  must  in  like  man¬ 
ner  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and  receive  that  resurrection  of 
life  and  immortality  manifested  in  the  risen  body  of  their 
Bedeemer.  Hence  comes  the  victorious  challenge  of  death 
for  its  sting  and  the  grave  for  its  victory.  These  being  the 
closing  remarks,  I  gave  out  the  song  above  spoken  of: 

“  Sweet  to  rejoice  in  lively  hope, 

That  when  my  change  shall  come, 

Angels  will  hover  round  my  bed, 

And  waft  my  spirit  home. 

“  There  shall  my  disembodied  soul 
View  Jesus,  and  adore  ; 

Be  in  his  likeness  satisfied, 

And  grieve  and  sin  no  more. 

“  Shall  see  him  wear  that  very  flesh 
On  which  my  guilt  was  lain  ; 


JESSE  J.  goben’s  writings.  61 

His  love  intense,  his  merits  fresh, 

As  though  but  newly  slain. 

“  These  eyes  shall  see  him  in  that  da}r, 

The  Christ  that  died  for  me ; 

And  all  my  rising  bones  shall  say, 

Lord,  who  is  like  to  thee ? 

“If  such  the  views  which  grace  unfolds, 

Weak  as  it  is  below, 

What  rapture  must  the  church  above 
In  Jesus’  presence  know  ! 

“  0  may  the  unctions  of  these  truths 
Forever  with  me  stay, 

Till  from  her  sinful  cage  dismiss’d, 

My  spirit  flies  away.” 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  hymn  meeting  was  dismissed, 
and  Elder  Hexed  stepped  up  on  a  platform,  that  was  built 
for  the  convenience  of  ladies  to  get  on  their  beasts,  and  said, 
“  Friend  Goben,  I  blame  you  for  two  things.”  I  said,  “What 
is  it?”  He  said,  “You  judged  of  my  preaching.”  I  said, 
“How  £id  I  judge  of  your  preaching?”  He  said,  “I  sent 
two  brethren  to  meet  you  this  morning,  and  to  make  a  re¬ 
quest  that  we  were  not  to  pick  at  each  other.  When  you 
got  up  you  said  that  if  I  had  brought  any  witness  to  prove 
the  non-resurrection  of  this  mortal  body,  they  ought  to  be¬ 
lieve  it,  for  it  was  of  God  ;  and  it  was  as  much  as  to  say  that 
I  had  brought  none.”  “  Well,”  said  I,  “  if  you  brought  any 
witness  I  did  not  hear  it,  and  I  now  call  on  you  to  tell  these 
people  where  it  is ;  and  if  you  cannot,  don’t  blame  me,  and 
forever  afterward  hold  your  peace.”  His  lips  quivered,  and 
he. turned  pale,  but  made  no  reply.  I  then  said,  “What  is 
the  other  thing  you  blamed  me  for  ?”  He  said,  “  When  you 
gave  out  that  hymn  you  forked  your  Angers  opposite  your 


G2 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

eyes,  as  though  it  were  these  eyes."  I*  said,  u  You  ought  to 
excuse  me  for  that,  for  I  am  in  sentiment  with  Job,  and  my 
fingers  were  only  doing  the  bidding  of  my  mind,  when  Job 
said,  ;  In  my  ilesh  shall  I  see  God ;  whom  I  shall  see  for  my¬ 
self.  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another.’  ”  At  this 

t*  * 

juncture  Elder  Hered  said,  “I  see  plainly  it  is  not  worth 
while  for  me  to  preach  at  this  place  any  more."  So  we  part¬ 
ed,  and  I  must  here  say  that  I  felt  truly  gratified,  for  the 
meeting  turned  out  much  better  than  I  expected.  The  Eider 
was  considered  an  able  debater  and  a  politician,  and  the 
people  of  Boone  County  had  sent  him  once  to  the  Legisla¬ 
ture  ;  so  I  concluded  the  battle  was  similar  to  that  of  Goliath 
and  Dayid  the  stripling. 

After  I  had  been  a  resident  of  Indiana  twenty-five  years 
I  went  back  to  Kentucky  on  a  three  weeks’  tour  of  preach¬ 
ing,  and  brother  Jonathan  Vancleaye  also  went.  We  went 
to  Beech  Creek,  and  I  had  preached,  and  there  was  a  brother 
whose  name  was  Charles  Bright.  I  had  known  him  from  my 
childhood.  He  was  a  bachelor  when  I  left  Kentucky,  but  he 
had  married  in  my  absence.  He  had  got  entangled  in  the 
non-resurrection  doctrine,  and  the  church  was  on  the  verge 
of  excluding  him.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  there  was  a 
large,  good-looking  lady  came  to  me  and  said,  “  My  strange 
brother,  I  want  you  to  go  home  with  me.”  I  said,  “I  have 
promised  to  go  with  brother  Bright,  so  I  reckon  I  can’t  go 
with  you."  She  said,  “  That  is  just  to  my  hand,  for  I  am  his 
wife.*'  “  Well,  then,”  I  said,  u  I  will  go.”  I  started  to  my 
beast,  and  while  unhitching,  brother  Guthery,  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  came  to  me  and  said,  “Brother  Goben,  I  am  sorry 
for  you,  for  you  are  going  with  brother  Bright,  and  he  has 
got  off  in  that  non-resurrection  doctrine,  and  we  can’t  do 


JESSE  J.  goben’s  writings.  63 

.'anything  with  him.  He  is  a  rich  man,  and  has  nothing  to  do 
but  read,  and  he  knows  the  Scriptures  better  than  all  of  us 
preachers  put  together.  We  have  been  bearing  with  him 
about  a  year;  but  he  is  our  Deacon,  and  a  very  good  man, 
and  we  hate  to  exclude  him.”  “  Well,  brother  Guthery,  I 
have  agreed  to  go,  and  will  have  to  do  the  best  I  can.”  I 
went,  and  when  dinner  was  over  sister  Bright  said,  “  Brother 
Goben,  I  will  now  tell  you  why  I  wanted  you  to  come  home 
with  me.  While  you  were  preaching  to-day  it  fastened  on 
my  mind  that  you  could  get  Mr.  Bright  out  of  this  non-resur¬ 
rection  doctrine.  He  is  a  good  husband,  but  the  church  is 
about  to  exclude  him,  and  it  seems  like  it  will  almost  break 
my  heart.”  Here  she  broke  down  weeping.  1  then  said, 
■“  Sister,  brother  Bright  will  have  to  give  me  his  views  on  the 
resurrection,  so  that  I  can  know  where  we  differ.”  Then 
brother  Bright  said, u  O,  brother  Goben,  I  believe  in  a  resur¬ 
rection,  but  not  such  a  one  as  she  talks  of.”  I  then  said, 
,uThe  Sadducees  came  to  Jesus,  tempting  him,  and  said, 
There  was  a  woman  that  had  married  seven  husbands,  and 
last  of  all  the  woman  died ;  and  in  the  resurrection  whose 
wife  shall  she  be  ?  for  they  all  had  her.  Jesus  said,  Ye  do 
err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God;  for 
in  the  resurrection,  when  they  shall  arise  from  the  dead,  they 
neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  all  as  the 
angels  of  God.”  Then  brother  Bright  said,  “Brother  Goben, 
you  did  not  quote  that  right.”  I  said,  “Yes,  I  reckon  I 
did.”  “No,”  said  he,  “you  did  not;  for  those  words,  ‘when 
they  shall  arise  from  the  dead,’  are  not  there.”  “  Well,” 
.said  I,  “  if  they  are  there,  it  is  one  strong  witness  for  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.”  “  O  yes,”  said  he,  “  if  they  were 
there.”  “Well,”  said  I,  “brother  Bright,  if  they  are  not 


G4  JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

t 

there,  I  will  figree  to  preach  your  doctrine  as  long  as  I  live ; 
and  if  they  are  there,  I  want  you  to  agree  to  quit  troubling 
your  brethren  with  your  non-resurrection  doctrine ;  for  they 
love  you,  and  do  not  want  to  exclude  you.”  He  then  said, 
“I  will  accept  your  proposition.”  Then  sister  Bright  jumped 
up  and  got  the  Bible,  and  handed  it  to  him.  He  looked 
awhile,  but  did  not  find  the  text.  I  then  said,  u  Let  me  look  ; 
it  may  be  that  I  can  find  it.”  I  found  it,  and  handed  him  the 
book.  He  read  it  over,  and  then  said,  “  I  knew  you  were 
mistaken.”  I  said,  u  Bead  it  again.”  He  read  it  just  as  he 
had  before,  leaving  out  the  words,  u  When  they  shall  arise 
from  the  dead.”  I  then  got  up  and  stepped  behind  him, 
placing  my  finger  on  the  line  ;  and  when  I  got  to  those  words 
I  stopped.  He  looked  for  a  second  or  two  with  astonish¬ 
ment,  and  then  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  said,  u  I  never 
saw  that  before.”  At  that  juncture  his  wife  clapped  her 
hand  on  his  knee  and  said,  u  Old  man,  will  you  do  what  you 
said  ?”  As  he  did  not  answer  her  forthwith,  she  repeated  it. 
He  then  said,  u  Yes,  old  woman,  I  certainly  will.”  Then  the 
old  lady  sent  out  for  her  neighbors  to  come  in,  and  we  had  a 
very  pleasant  meeting,  and  she  seemed  like  she  had  got  new 
life.  Five  years  afterward  brother  Guthery  moved  to  Craw- 
fordsville,  and  he  informed  me  that  brother  Bright  had  never 
been  any  more  trouble  to  the  church  on  his  non-resurrection 
doctrine. 

I  will  here  narrate  a  circumstance  as  it  was  told  to  me, 
which  was  rather  supernatural.  Polly  Misner  was  born  and 
raised  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  joined  the  Methodists  when 
a  girl ;  and  when  grown  she  was  married  to  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Campbell.  In  process  of  time  her  husband  died, 
and  all  her  children,  and  she  came  to  Montgomery  County, 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


65 


Indiana,  to  live  with  her  brother.  She  frequently  attended 
our  meetings  at  Walnut  Creek,  and  finally  became  under 
great  trouble  of  mind,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Lord  had  taken  her  husband  and  children  from  her  because 
she  was  so  great  a  sinner  that  she  was  not  fit  for  them  to 
live  with.  While  she  was  in  her  great  trouble  the  Method¬ 
ists  were  carrying  on  a  protracted  meeting  in  the  school- 
house  where  we  held  our  monthly  meetings,  and  she  conclu¬ 
ded  that  she  would  go  to  their  meeting  and  see  if  she  could 
hear  anything  that  would  give  her  relief.  She  went,  and  the 
house  was  full  of  people,  carrying  on  a  lively  meeting.  She 
took  her  seat  at  the  back  part  of  the  house ;  and  while  sit¬ 
ting  there  in  solitude,  thinking  over  her  sinful  condition,  I 
stepped  in,  read  a  text,  and  began  preaching.  I  proved  to 

her  that  the  Lord  had  not  taken  her  husband  and  children 

# 

because  of  her  sins,  but  it  was  amongst  the  all  things  work¬ 
ing  together  for  them  that  love  God.  She  received  comfort, 
and  left  the  house.  She  had  a  niece  that  lived  about  one 
hundred  yards  from  the  school-house,  who  saw  her  going 
home,  and  called  to  her,  saying,  “Aunt  Polly,  what  are  you 
going  home  for?”  She  answered,  “  Meeting  is  over.”  Her 
niece  said,  “No,  it  is  not;  I  hear  them  singing.”  She  then 
said,  “My  meeting  is  over.”  She  went  on  to  her  brother’s, 
some  two  hundred  yards  further,  and  her  sister-in-law  said, 
“Aunt  Polly,  why  did  you  come  home  so  soon?”  She  again 
replied  that  meeting  was  over.  Her  sister-in-law  said,  “No, 
it  is  not,  for  I  hear  them  singing.”  She  then  went  on  to  tell 
-how  I  came  into  the  house,  read  a  text,  preached,  and  dis¬ 
missed  meeting;  and  her  meeting  was  out  and  she  came 
home.  This  Avas  a  great  astonishment  to  many,  for  they 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


GO 


knew  that  Aunt  Polly  was  a  woman  of  truth,  and  not  given 
to  jesting.  So  it  is  evident  that  the  Lord  manifested  to  her 
a  discourse  delivered  by  me  for  her  comfort,  though  I  was 
not  there.  It  was  not  long  until  X  baptized  her,  and  she  has 
been  one  of  the  faithful  to  this  day. 

I  will  here  narrate  a  similar  circumstance,  which  is  as 
follows :  Brother  Jonathan  Jones  and  his  wife  took  an  orphan 
child  to  raise  whose  name  was  Arabella  Caster.  When  she 
was  about  seventeen  years  old  she  started  to  walk  from  the 
dwelling  house  to  the  kitchen.  She  fell  in  the  yard  speech¬ 
less,  and  remained  so  for  several  days.  One  night,  after  she 
came  to  her  speech,  she  told  the  family  she  wanted  them  to 
send  for  me,  for  she  desired  to  hear  me  preach  once  more. 
It  being  a  time  of  very  high  waters,  and  still  raining,  and 
very  dark,  they  told  her  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  go  that 
night,  the  distance  being  some  ten  miles,  but  they  would  go 
in  the  morning;  so  she  laid  quiet  a  little  while.  All  at  once 
she  said,  u  Mr.  Goben  has  come."  Some  of  the  family  spoke, 
and  she  said,  u  Hush  !  he  is  reading  his  text.”  She  then  laid 
quiet  several  minutes,  and  then  said,  u  There,  he  is  done.” 

She  then  quoted  the  text,  “  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  peo- 

» 

pie,  saith  your  God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem, 
and  cry  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her 
iniquity  is  pardoned ;  for  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord’s 
hand  double  for  all  her  sins.”  She  then  took  up  the  subject 
herself  and  preached  from  it,  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
present,  in  language  they  could  not  rehearse.  Sister  Jones 
said  it  made  a  tremor  run  over  her,  so  that  the  skin  drew 
tight  on  her  head,  to  hear  the  wonderfully  rich  language  she 
used  in  her  dying  hour ;  and  it  was  but  a  little  time  until  her 
spirit  took  its  flight. 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


67 


I  will  here  give  a  history  of  a  discourse  preached  in  the 
year  1857  at  the  funeral  of  Edward  Gamhere.  I  had  sold 
my  farm ,  and  had  moved  some  thirteen  miles;  and  about 
two  years  afterward  I  met  Mr.  Gambere  at  Crawfordsville. 
He  was  some  ninety  odd  years  of  age,  and  only  knew  per¬ 
sons  by  their  voice.  I  said,  “  How  do  you  do,  father  Gam¬ 
bere  ?77  He  said,  “  Friend  Goben,  is  that  you  ?  I  am  glad 
to  see  you.77  I  then  said,  “  Father  Gambere,  I  am  glad  to 
see  you.77  Then  said  he,  “  I  will  tell  you  the  reason  why  I 
am  so  glad  to  see  you.  I  am  now  an  old  man,  and  must  soon 
go  the  way  of  all  the  earth.  I  have  had  it  on  my  mind  that 
I  wanted  you  to  preach  my  funeral,  and  it  has  troubled  me 
a  great  deal,  for  I  have  been  afraid  that  I  would  never  get 
to  see  you.  I  have  a  text  that  I  want  you  to  use  on  that 
occasion.  It  is  the  text  my  father’s  funeral  was  preached 
from.  You  will  find  it  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Hebrews,  and 
last  two  verses.77  He  then  quoted,  “And  as  it  is  appointed 
unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment  :  so  Christ 
was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many ;  and  unto  them 
that  look  for  him  shall  he  appear  the  second  time  without  sin 
unto  salvation.77  He  then  said,  “Will  you  answer  my  re¬ 
quest,  when  you  hear  that  this  old  body  is  put  away  ?77  I 
then  said,  “  Yes,  father  Gambere,  the  Lord  being  my  helper, 
I  will.”  With  deep  solemnity  and  a  warm  hand-shake  we 
parted,  and  I  saw  him  no  more.  Now  I  began  meditating  on 
the  text,  and  thinking  that  I  would  have  to  preach  on  a 
future  day  of  judgment,  something  I  had  never  yet  done, 
though  I  had  believed  it  from  my  earliest  recollection,  and 
everybody  else,  so  far  as  I  knew,  and  the  hymn  books  of  all 
denominations  had  more  or  less  hymns  portraying  that  day ; 
but  at  length  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  time  enough 


68  JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  writings. 

to  be  troubled  about  it  when  I  had  it  to  do.  So  I  thought 
but  little  more  about  it,  only  hoping  that  the  Lord  would 
control  the  matter.  In  about  one  year  I  heard  the  old  man 
was  dead,  and  I  wrote  a  letter  to  his  son,  informing  him  of 
my  promise  to  his  father,  and  calling  on  him  to  give  notice 
of  the  meeting.  I  then  got  my  Bible  and  read  the  text,  and 
to  my  astonishment  I  saw  that  the  judgment  was  on  Christ, 
because  of  the  appointment  of  man  to  death,  and  not  on  man 
at  all ;  for  man  was  already  judged,  condemned,  and  sent¬ 
enced  to  death  and  dust,  and  for  this  cause  Christ  was  offered 
to  bear  the  sins  of  many.  Xow  the  witnesses  began  to  flow 
into  my  mind  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  future  day 
of  judgment,  but  it  was  one  eternal  now  with  the  great  God. 
The  funeral  was  appointed  at  Fredericksburgh,  and  there 
was  a  large  congregation  assembled.  Of  course  I  cannot  tell 
you  now  all  that  I  said  then,  but  the  substance  I  can  give. 
After  reading  the  text  I  said,  u  This  text  was  the  choice  of 
the  deceased  hither  to  be  used  at  this  time,  when  his  tongue 
was  still  in  death.”  I  then  rehearsed  the  conversation  above 
written,  relative  to  the  funeral.  I  then  stated  that  he  was- 
one  of  the  oldest  citizens  that  had  lived  amongst  us ;  that  he 
was  a  moral,  peaceable  man,  but  had  not  made  any  open 
profession  of  religion ;  and  as  the  Bible  informed  us  that  the 
race  was  not  to  the  swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  and 
that  the  song  of  the  redeemed  was,  u  Xot  unto  us,  not  unto 
us,  but  unto  thy  name  be  the  glory,”  I  would  therefore  leave 
it  to  this  congregation  to  say,  if  the  Lord  should  enable  this- 
old  man  to  sing  the  song  of  redemption,  who  will  sing  the 
song  the  louder,  we  that  have  lived  in  a  church  capacity,  or 
this  old  man,  that  never  did.  I  then  stated  that  this  text 
had  been  relied  on,  as  well  as  many  others,  to  prove  a  future 


JESSE  J.  goben’s  writings.  69 

day  of  judgment ;  but  it  was  an  old,  gray-beaded  error,  and 
that  falsehood  never  got  any  better  by  reason  of  age.  It  is 
strange  to  think  how  many  have  believed  it,  and  never  ob¬ 
served  what  it  involves.  It  would  bring  back  all  the  glori¬ 
fied  saints  in  heaven,  and  all  the  wicked  that  were  banished 
from  the  glory  of  God  and  the  presence  of  his  power,  to  see 
whether  they  had  gone  to  the  right  place ;  and  if  there  were 
no  change  made,  it  would  be  but  a  mockery ;  and  if  any 
change,  it  would  prove  a  weakness  in  eternal  wisdom.  But 
a  resurrection  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust  is  provable.  The 
judgment  having  gone  before,  tells  us  that  the  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first,  and  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air, 
and  so  shall  they  ever  be  with  the  Lord ;  but  the  wicked 
shall  go  away  in  their  wickedness.  Christ  proclaimed,  “How 
is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  now  shall  the  prince  of  this 
world  be  cast  out.”  You  are  condemned  already,  because 
you  have  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God.  ISTot  only  so,  but  the  Scriptures  abundantly  testify 
that  Christ  is  the  Shepherd  of  his  sheep,  and  therefore  ac- 
countable  for  their  trespasses;  and  the  Husband  of  the  bride, 
and  therefore  accountable  for  her  debts ;  and  that  he  is  the 
Head  of  the  body,  and  therefore  accountable  for  his  mem¬ 
bers.  The  prophet  Isaiah  says  that  the  Lord  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all.  Paul  testifies  that  they  are  justified 
from  all  things,  and  challenges  all  opposing  powers,  saying, 
u  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God’s  elect?  It 
is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  V7  Justi¬ 
fication  being  a  law  term,  it  could  not  take  place  in  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  a  judgment  previously  rendered ;  and  in  conclusion 
Jesus  cried  out,  u  It  is  finished  !”  and  gave  up  the  ghost. 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


Crawfordsville,  IncLr  April,  1876. 

Dear  Brother  Payne: — Your  postal  card  was  re¬ 
ceived  and  read  with  pleasure.  I  was  glad  to  hear  from  you, 
but  have  made  no  progress  in  getting  subscribers  for  vour 
paper.  These  contracted  times  in  currency  is  a  hard  time  to 
start  a  paper,  though  I  wish  you  great  success.  If  you  suc¬ 
ceed,  I  will  be  a  subscriber,  provided  I  can  raise  the  means* 
The  points  of  doctrine  that  you  mentioned  in  your  Prospectus 
are  fully  sustained  by  the  Scriptures.  I  have  been  made  to 
wonder  how  any  man  that  leans  to  the  Lord  for  understand¬ 
ing  fails  to  see  that  the  doctrine  of  the  two  seeds  is  abund¬ 
antly  proved  by  the  Scriptures ;  for  if  there  wTere  no  other 
evidence  but  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  tares,  it  would  be 

abundantly  sustained.  Jesus  not  only  spake  the  parable,. 

. 

but  explained  it,  so  it  will  admit  of  no  other  explanation  j 
and  how  heaven-daring  it  would  be  for  a  finite  wTorm  to  un¬ 
dertake  to  improve  on  the  explanation  of  the  Lord  of  lords 
and  King  of  kings.  Kot  only  so,  but  the  volume  of  nature 
harmonizes  with  and  substantiates  the  same  doctrine ;  for 
everything  has  its  opposite.  Hence  Paul  would  say,  66  The 
invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are 
clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made, 
even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead.”  From  the  above  we 
may  learn  that  in  creation  God  had  an  eye  single  to  the  un¬ 
folding  of  heavenly  things ;  and  not  only  so,  but  he  also 
made  manifest  the  existence  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity* 
Therefore  he  planted  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


71 


evil  as  a  warning ;  for  it  is  noted  in  the  Scriptures  that  it  is 
no  less  the  prerogative  of  God  to  reveal  sin  than  to  reveal 
holiftess.  But  Satan,  with  all  his  subjects,  are  inclined  to 
hide  their  crimes,  ^Not  only  so,  hut  your  second  point  of 
doctrine  in  your  Banner  is  equally  sustained,  to  wit,  the 
eternity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  for  if  mortal  man  should  vent 
his  skill  to  declare  the  eternity  of  Jesus  beyond  what  the 
Scriptures  have  done,  he  would  utterly  fail. 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


Crawfordsville,  Montgomery  Co.,  Ind.,  Feb.  6,  1876. 

Dear  Brother  Goodson  : — The  time  has  come  and 
passed  for  me  to  make  a  remittance  to  you  for  your  excellent 
paper,  the  u  Messenger  of  Peace.”  I  now  send  you  $1.50, 
hoping  that  the  u  Messenger  ”  may  prove  a  blessing  to  all 
who  read  it.  I  am  much  pleased  with  the  manner  in  which 
you  conduct  it ;  for  there  is  no  way  1  can  conceive  of  that 
the  gifts  of  the  whole  can  be  sent  abroad  without  giving 
offense  but  to  let  each  one  write  affirmatively  his  own  views, 
and  thereby  not  be  found  wasting  their  time  in  pulling  down 
some  one  else  whom  they  suppose  is  wrong.  By  your  per¬ 
mission  I  will  give  a  few  thoughts  on  the  subject  of  feet 
washing,  notwithstanding  there  has  been  a  great  deal  said 
pro  and  con  on  that  subject. 

First  I  remark  that  in  years  gone  by  I  was  very  much 
troubled  to  know  why  the  churches  did  not  practice  it;  and 
as  I  am  now  reconciled  that  the  Savior  did  not  intend  the 


72 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WHITINGS. 


literal  observance,  and  as  none  of  the  brethren  have  said 
precisely  what  I  want  to  say,  I  therefore  want  .to  tell  the 
brethren  how  I  became  reconciled.  First,  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  had  been  a  subject  long  prophesied  of,  and  now  Christ 
the  King  had  come,  and  had  spoken  many  parables,  illus¬ 
trating  to  his  disciples  what  the  kingdom  was  like ;  but  they 
did  not  understand  the  manner  of  the  kingdom,  but  looked 
at  Christ  as  a  temporal  deliverer.  Hence  they  would  often 
say,  u  Wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?” 
Doubtless  their  anxiety  was  great  to  be  restored,  for  the 
Koman  yoke  was  pressing  them  sorely  ;  and  as  all  the  king¬ 
doms  in  the  world  had  their  great  men  in  them,  they  greatly 
desired  to  know  who  was  to  be  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom. 
Jesus  reproved  them,  and  said,  u  Whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant.”  He  also  took  a  little 
child  and  set  it  in  their  midst,  saying,  u  Except  ye  be  con¬ 
verted.  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  mother  of  Zebedee’s  children 
also  grew  proud,  and  asked  the  Savior  to  u  grant  that  these 
my  two  sons  may  sit,  the  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and  the 
other  on  the  left,  in  thy  kingdom.”  The  rest  of  the  disciples 
took  indignation  at  them ;  and  Jesus,  to  show  them  by  a  sign 
or  figure  the  difference  between  his  kingdom  and  the  king¬ 
doms  of  this  world,  girded  himself  with  a  towel,  and  poured 
water  into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  his  disciples’  feet, 
saying,  u  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now ;  but  thou  shaft 
know  hereafter.”  Surely  they  did  know  that  he  was  wash¬ 
ing  their  feet ;  and  if  they  did,  then  they  knew  that  it  was 
not  that  literal  observance,  but  something  that  it  signified. 
Hence,  when  he  had  finished  washing  their  feet  he  explained 
to  them  what  it  was  that  they  did  not  know,  but  told  them 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


73 


they  should  know  hereafter.  Hence  he  said,  u  Know  ye  what 
I  have  done  to  you  t”  u  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his 
lord ;  neither  he  that  is  sent  greater  than  he  that  sent  him.” 
u  If  I  then,  your  Lord  and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet ; 
ye  also  ought  to  wash  one  another’s  feet.”  Thus  he  ex¬ 
plained  to  them  that  his  kingdom  was  not  in  self-exaltation, 
like  the  kingdoms  of  this  world,  but  in  humbleness  and  hu¬ 
mility.  Hence,  having  cured  the  bigotry  that  existed  among 
the  apostles,  they  never  handed  it  down  to  the  churches ; 
neither  do  we  hear  of  the  apostles  washing  one  another’s 
feet  in  a  literal  sense.  The  three  evangelists  are  silent  on 
the  subject ;  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which  is  a  history 
of  the  church  for  the  space  of  thirty  years,  is  silent  on  the 
subject.  But  the  evangelist  John  comes  up  in  the  rear,  some 
thirty  years  after  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom,  and  re¬ 
hearses  what  Jesus  did  to  the  twelve.  It  is  very  evident 
that  the  apostles  occupied  some  very  conspicuous  places  in 
the  kingdom  that  were  never  enjoined  on  anybody  else. 
First,  they  were  set  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  writing  down  all  the  laws  and  ordinances 
that  were  to  govern  the  kingdom  in  all  ages  to  come.  In  the 
next  place,  Jesus  breathed  on  them,  and  said,  u  Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Ghost.”  u  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.” 
a  Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out 
devils.”  Hence  I  conclude  that  one  of  the  above  is  as  much 
enjoined  on  the  churches  as  the  other,  for  neither  of  them  is 
handed  down  to  be  practiced  by  the  churches;  but  they  were 
-enjoined  on  them  for  our  instruction. 

In  conclusion  1  will  say  that  our  feet  are  the  members' 
that  come  in  contact  with  the  earth — they  are  our  traveling 
members ;  and  to  whomsoever  we  yield  ourselves  servants  to 


74 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


obey,  his  servants  we  are,  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or 
obedience  unto  righteousness.  If  my  brethren  should  learn 
that  I  have  been  walking  in  forbidden  paths,  having  gone 
down  to  Egypt  for  help  by  mingling  with  the  world  in  an 
unbecoming  way,  and  thereby  defiled  my  feet,  they  begin 
washing  my  feet  by  telling  me  that  I  am  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  my  Lord  has  commanded  me,  that  I  have  no  re¬ 
served  rights,  that  God’s  Israel  are  to  dwell  alone,  and  not 
to  be  reckoned  among  the  nations.  If  they  reclaim  me  they 
have  succeeded  in  washing  my  feet,  and  have  saved  a  soul 
from  death,  and  hid  a  multitude  of  sins. 

Brother  Goodson,  I  have  not  given  chapter  and  verse, 
but  the  brethren  can  hunt  them  up  at  their  leisure. 

Yours  to  serve  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus 
Christ, 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


July  8,  1876: 

Dear  Brother  Payne  in  the  Kingdom  and  Pa¬ 
tience  of  Jesus  Christ  : — I  take  this  highly  favored  op¬ 
portunity  to  answer  your  request,  though,  my  dear  brother, 

i 

I  feel  very  incompetent  for  the  task.  I  feel  assured  that  you 
could  write  more  instructively  to  the  brethren  than  I  can  on 
that  subject;  but  I  proceed,  with  this  standing  request,  that 
you  at  some  future  time,  not  far  distant,  give  your  views  on 
the  same  subject,  it  being  the  motto  of  your  paper. 

“And  there  was  given  me  a  reed  like  unto  a  rod :  and 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


75 


the  angel  stood,  saying,  Rise,  and  measure  the  temple  of 
Godj  and  the  altar,  and  them  that  worship  therein.  But  the 
court  which  is  without  the  temple  leave  out,  and  measure  it 
not;  for  it  is  given  unto  the  Gentiles :  and  the  holy  city  shall 
they  tread  under  foot  forty  and  two  months.”  Having  quo¬ 
ted  to  the  conclusion  of  the  second  verse,  we  will  proceed. 
First,  the  old  apostle  John  informs  us  that  when  he  wrote 

.ji  u’'1  • 

the  above  text  he  was  in  the  isle  which  is  called  Patinos,  for 
the  wrord  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Then  his 
exiled  solitude  was  for  no  crime  that  he  had  committed,  but 
for  his  belief  in  and  testimony  of  Jesus.  He  said  that  it  was 
on  the  Lord’s  day,  that  is,  the  gospel  day;  for  the  light 
he  called  day,  and  the  darkness  he  called  night. — Genesis 
i.  5.  Hence  the  glorious  Son  of  God  was  then  shining  in  the 
gospel  heavens  with  all  his  glorious  fullness,  right  where  he 
is  now,  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks,  with  his  white  head 
and  flaming  eyes  and  glowing  feet,  as  in  a  burning  furnace 
his  white  head  indicating  his  eternity  and  purity,  his  flaming 
eyes  his  keen  perception  over  all  things,  and  his  feet  in  a 
burning  furnace,  showing  that  he  had  come  in  contact  with 
the,  earth,  where  his  people  were  chosen  in  the  furnace  of 
affliction.  Hence,  by  these  seven  candlesticks  or  churches 
the  Lord  has  shown  what  will  be  the  condition  of  the  churches 
in  all  time  to  come.  The  first  was  Ephesus,  and  they  of  the 
outer  court  claimed  the  doctrine  of  succession  to  the  apostle- 
ship;  and  the  church  had  borne  with  them,  and  had  patience,, 
and  tried  them,  and  found  them  to  be  liars  that  said  they 
were  apostles.  Doubtless  this  state  of  things  lasted  until 
Rome  lost  her  power.  The  second  state  was  Smyrna,  and 
the  blasphemers  of  the  outer  court  said  they  were  Jews;  but 
they  were  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan,  and  were  shutting  up 


76 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN'S  WRITINGS. 


in  prison  the  members  of  the  inner  court,  and  giving  them 

•  i  ✓ 

much  tribulation.  This  shows  the  enmity  existing  between 
thy  seed  and  her  seed :  Jesus  in  the  inner  court  leading  his 
army,  and  the  devil  in  the  outer  court  leading  his  army. 
Hence  Jude,  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  informs  us  that 
Jesus,  the  great  Michael,  the  Archangel,  when  contending 
with  the  devil,  he  (the  devil)  disputed  about  the  body  of 
Moses;  yet  Michael  dared  not  bring  a  railing  accusation 
against  him  before  the  Lord,  but  said,  “  The  Lord  rebuke 
thee,  Satan."  The  devil  had  introduced  the  principle  of  work 
amongst  the  creatures  of  God ;  and  although  salvation  was 
by  grace,  yet  they  dared  not  deny  that  good  works  were 
necessary.  Hence  the  body  of  Moses  was  the  point  in  dis¬ 
pute,  for  he  was  to  execute  the  law ;  and  he  that  doeth  the 
things  of  the  law  is  to  live  by  them.  For  this  cause  God  hid 
the  bodv  of  Moses,  so  that  no  man  knows  where  it  is  unto 
this  day ;  and  all  who  are  delivered  from  this  body  of  works 
hunt  for  it,  but  thev  can  never  find  it.  Blessed  is  the  man 
whose  sins  are  covered.  I  will  close  this  part  of  the  subject 
by  asking,  “  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  F  In  what  state 
of  the  seven  churches  do  we  live  ? 

“And  there  was  given  me  a  reed  like  unto  a  rod:  and 
the  angel  stood,  saying,  Bise,  and  measure  the  temple  of 
God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that  worship  therein.”  Doubt¬ 
less  Jesus  was  that  angel,  and  his  people  are  the  femple,  for 
it  is  so  noted  in  the  Scriptures.  The  altar  is  the  place  wTiere 
they  offer  their  sacrifice.  The  rod  by  which  they  are  meas- 
ured  is  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  Bemeinber,  the  angel  above 
spoken  of  “  stood,  saying,  Bise,”  which  shows  a  continual 
measuring.  Hence  every  minister  of  Jesus  in  every  gospel 
discourse  measures  both  the  temple  and  the  altar;  but  the 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


77 


outer  court  is  always  left  out,  for  the  reed  will  not  measure 
them.  In  the  twenty-first  chapter  we  have  ample  testimony 
why  one  is  measured  and  the  other  left  out.  Hence  he  says,. 

m 

“And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high 
mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God.”  They  are  liis.. 
They  come  from  him,  and  must  go  to  him.  John  says,  “  Ye 
are  of  God,  little  children,  and  the  whole  world  lietli  in  wick¬ 
edness.”  This  is  the  outer  court.  They  had  only  a  nominal 
standing ;  hence  they  were  given  unto  the  Gentiles,  or  the 
heathen.  But  the  oracles  were  given  unto  the  Jews;  there¬ 
fore  the  condemnation  of  those  of  the  outer  court  slumbereth 
not,  and  the  holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  foot  forty  and 
two  months.  Then  come  the  two  witnesses. 

Brother  Payne,  I  have  written  at  intervals,  and  have 
done  the  best  I  could ;  it  looks  very  meager.  Ho  as  you 
please  with  the  scrap,  and  all  will  be  right.  At  some  future 
time,  if  the  Lord  will,  I  will  give  a  few  thoughts  on  the  two 
witnesses.  Yours  to  serve, 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


April  18,  1877. 

Dear  Brother  Payne  and  Brethren  : — I  feel  that 
I  want  to  converse  a  little  with  you  all  this  morning,  and  I 
have  a  hope  that  you  will  bear  with  my  weakness.  First,  I 
feel  a  great  anxiety  for  the  spread  and  success  of  the  “  Herald 
of  Truth  but  my  prayer  to  God  is  that  my  zeal  may  not  be 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


78 


.suffered  to  surpass  a  becoming  knowledge,  and  thereby  make 
the  u  Herald  of  Truth  v  a  calamity  instead  of  a  blessing.  I 
am  fully  satisfied  that  the  belief  of  the  doctrine  of  two  seeds, 
or  the  disbelief  of  it,  does  not  unchristianize  God’s  children. 
No,  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  their  hope  in  Jesus.  But  to 
you  and  to  me  it  has  a  vast  amount  to  do  with  the  consist¬ 
ency  of  truth.  Then  let  us  be  very  careful  to  raise  no  bar  of 

0 

fellowship  against  our  brethren  who  do  not  view  this  line  of 
doctrine  as  we  do.  Let  us  give  no  offense  to  Jew  nor  Gen¬ 
tile,  nor  to  the  church  of  God ;  but  in  meekness  and  in  love 

• 

let  us  express  our  views  to  each  other,  casting  no  unpleasant 
reflections  on  our  brethren  who  honestly  differ  from  us.  I 
have  been  mingling  with  the  Baptists  for  more  than  forty 
years,  and  a  large  portion  of  that  time  I  have  attended  four 
churches.  There  have  never  been  any  splits  or  divisions 
among  them  in  regard  to  the  two  seed  doctrine,  from  the  fact 
that  I  never  undertook  to  drench  them,  but  left  them  free  to 
form  their  own  conclusions,  after  I  had  borne  my  little  testi¬ 
mony.  I  hope  I  feel  thankful  that  I  have  had  no  disposition 
to  preach  the  devil  and  the  dire  condition  of  the  condemned, 
but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  Notwithstanding  what 
I  have  said  above,  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  as  I  understand  it.  Furthermore,  I  have 
never  been  able  to  harmonize  the  Scriptures  in  any  other 
way,  but  that  there  are  two  great  mysteries,  each  producing 
after  its  own  kind,  and  there  is  no  relationship  or  union  be¬ 
tween  them  ;  and  that  God  never  punished  the  devil  nor  sin 
for  what  it  is  in  itself,  but  for  the  transgressions  against  him, 
I  am  sure  that  the  brethren  all  know  by  woeful  experience 
that  there  is  a  war  going  on  in  them,  and  I  feel  about  as  sure 
that  none  ot  them  believe  that  their  heavenly  Father  is 


JESSE  J-  *& OBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


70 


lighting  against  liimself;  but  with  liis  Spirit  in  them  they 
are  warring  against  sin,  and  were  it  not  for  God’s  interven¬ 
tion  they  would  be  overcome.  But  Jesus  came  to  destroy 
him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil,  and  de¬ 
liver  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage.  O  how  beautiful,  how  consistent,  how 
harmonious  the  truth  appears  when  we  use  the  testimony  as 
the  Lord  has  laid  ft  down !  But  when  any  of  the  children 
get  it  reversed,  it  makes  desperate  work. 

Brethren,  the  reason  that  I  so  much  urge  each  one  of 
you  to  increase  the  list  of  signers  for  the  u  Herald  of  Truth” 
is  because  of  its  consistency  with  the  revelation  that  God 
has  given ;  and  I  feel  assured  that  the  truth  of  God  declared 
in  that  wav  that  should  characterize  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom  cannot  prove  destructive  to  the  household  of  faith.  I 
for  one  am  well  pleased  with  the  manner  in  which  the  u  Her¬ 
ald”  is  conducted;  yes,  far  better  than  I  expected  to  be. 
Brother  Payne,  I  have  obtained  one  more  subscriber.  It  is 
sister  Betsey  Wilson.  She  was  born  blind  to  natural  things 
as  well  as  to  heavenly  things ;  but  it  pleased  the  Lord  years 
ago  to  enlighten  the  eyes  of  her  understanding,  so  that  she 
can  behold  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
well  as  any  of  her  brethren,  and  she,  with  them,  is  looking 
forward  to  the  more  refulgent  glory. 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


Crawfordsville,  Ind,,  Sept.  15,  1884. 

Elder  Dickerson — Dear  Brother  : — I  received  your 
letter,  in  which  you  call  me  to  account  for  preaching  Jesus 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  This  has  been  and  is  a 
subject  of  much  controversy,  from  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  present,  notwithstanding*  God  gave  infallible 
testimony  by  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  in  translating 
him,  showing  the  finality  of  the  antediluvian  world.  “  Enoch 
walked  with  God :  and  he  was  not ;  for  God  took  him.*5’ 
Again,  in  the  second  measure  of  time  Elijah  was  translated^, 
showing  the  finality  of  the  prophetic  age.  In  the  third  and 
last  measure  of  time  Jesus  arose,  and  after  forty  days  as¬ 
cended  up  on  high,  with  the  eternal  life  of  all  he  represented 
in  him,  saying,  “As  I  live,  shall  ye  also  live.55  Notwith¬ 
standing  the  above,  with  all  that  is  written,  you  call  me  in 
question  for  bearing  testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  as  did  the  Jews  the  Lord  Jesus  and  his  disciples  for 
X>reaching  the  same.  The  Jews  encountered  Jesus,  intro¬ 
ducing  to  him  a  woman  that  had  been  married  to  seven  hus¬ 
bands,  asking  him,  “  In  the  resurrection  whose  wife  shall  she 
be?55  He  answered  them,  “ Do  ye  not  therefore  err,  because 
ye  know  not  the  Scriptures,  neither  the  power  of  God  f  For 
when  they  shall  rise  from  the  dead,  they  neither  marry,  nor 
are  given  in  marriage;  but  are  as  the  angels  which  are  in 
heaven.55  Ought  not  the  above  answer  put  to  silence  all 
caviling,  seeing  Jesus  confirmed  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
by  his  “shall,55  which  means  fate,  or  destiny f  Here  suffer 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


81 


me  to  repeat  the  words  of  Paul  to  Agrrppa:  u  Why  should 
it  be  thought  a  thiug  incredible  with  you,  that  God  should 
raise  the  dead  F  Notwithstanding  the  above,  it  was  but  a 
short  time  until  Steidien  sealed  his  testimony  with  the  blood 
of  his  life  for  the  same  doctrine ;  and  it  was  but  a  short  time 
until  the  church  at  Corinth  became  so  entangled  that  it  drew 
forth  one  of  the  most  powerful  arguments  of  the  most  cogent 
reasoning  by  the  apostle  Paul.  He  calls  attention  in  the 
first  place  to  the  fact  that  the  truth  of  Christ’s  resurrection 
is  essential  to  the  very  nature  and  efficacy  of  the  gospel,  and 
that  this  truth  had  been  received  and  fully  acknowledged  by 
them;  and  he  alleges  that  the  apostles,  including  himself, 
with  many  others,  witnessed  the  infallible  proofs  by  which 
this  great  fact  was  sustained;  and  that  they  (the  apostles), 
who  were  the  chosen  witnesses  of  Christ’s  resurrection,  had 
not  only  with  one  voice  proclaimed  the  fact,  but  the  Holy 
Ghost  had  also  borne  witness,  and  those  Corinthians  had 
believed  it.  Hence  he  institutes  the  inquiry,  “If  Christ  be 
preached  that  lie  rose  from  the  dead,  how  say  some  among 
you  that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead?”  Here  let  it 
be  observed  that  the  Corinthians  had  acknowledged  the 
truth  of  Christ’s  resurrection,  and  had  practiced  baptism  as 
explained  by  the  apostles  in  its  doctrinal  relations  to  that 
great  truth  ;  and  yet  some  among  them  denied  the  resurrec¬ 
tion  of  the  dead.  Hence  the  inquiry  above,  which  implies 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  necessarily  follows  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  as  effect  follows  cause.  So  the  apostle 

V 

argues  not  only  from  the  effect  to  the* cause,  but  also  from 
the  non-existence  of  the  effect  to  the  non-existence  of  the 
cause.  Hence  the  apostle  says,  “  But  if  there  be  no  resur- 

0 


82 


JESSE  J.  GOBEX'S  WRITINGS. 


rection  of  the  dead,  tlien  is  Christ  not  risen.’7  This  he  re¬ 
peats  the  second  time,  to  render  more  distinct  and  emphatic 
the  truth  affirmed.  Upon  the  assumption  that  the  dead  rise 
not,  which,  if  true,  utterly  disproves  the  truth  of  Christ’s 
resurrection,  he  reckons  the  consequences  to  be  disastrous 
beyond  measure,  and  so  declares  them,  namely,  that  the 
apostles  themselves  were  false  witnesses  of  God,  that  their 
preaching  was  vain,  they  were  still  in  their  sins,  they  also 
who  had  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  had  perished,  and  the  hope 
of  the  disciples,  in  view  of  the  perils,  persecutions  and  tribu¬ 
lations  endured  because  of  their  identification  by  profession 
with  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  furnished  neither 
mitigation  in  the  present  life  nor  promised  relief  after  death. 
At  this  stage  of  his  argument  the  apostle  triumphantly  af¬ 
firms  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  an  established  fact,  and 
exults  in  his  representative  character:  u  But  now  is  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
slept."  He  here  introduces  an  instructive  parable  between 
Adam  and  Christ ;  one  the  head  and  representative  of  the 
race  in  death — u  since  by  man  came  death;”  the  other  the 

ts  7 

head  and  representative  of  the  same  race  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead — u  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.”  The  one  a  representative-  on  whom  the  sentence  of 
death  has  passed — u  as  in  Adam  all  die;”  the  other  a  repre¬ 
sentative  in  whom  eternal  life  was  inherent — u  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.”  According  to  the  apostle’s 
own  words,  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth.'  Hence  the  argument  is  that  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  Christ  secures  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  he 
being  the  first  fruits ;  and  the  fact  that  some  among  the 
Corinthians  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  while  they 


I 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


83 


acknowledged  tlie  trutli  of  Christ’s  resurrection,  and  prac¬ 
ticed  baptism  in  its  doctrinal  relations  to  that  great  truth. 
Hence  the  apostle  said,  If  the  dead  rise  not,  as  some  among 
you  affirm,  then  Christ  does  not  reign,  he  is  not  the  Mediator, 
he  has  not  risen  from  the  dead.  If  it  be  admitted,  as  those 
heretic  members  did  admit,  that  Christ  lives  and  reigns,  then 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  will  certainly  follow ;  for  to  this 
end  Christ  both  died  and  rose  again,  that  he  might  be  Lord 
both  of  the  dead  and  the  living.  u  For  he  must  reign,  till  he 
hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  that 
shall  be  destroyed  is  death.’’  Death  is  destroyed  or  done 
away  by  raising  the  dead.  They  professed  that  Christ  had 
risen,  as  you  do,  brother  Dickerson,  and  that  he  lived  and 
reigned,  but  that  there  was  no  resurrection  of  the  dead ; 
which  was  shown  by  the  apostle  to  be  most  contradictory, 
and  their  heresy  was  shown  to  be  self-destructive.  In  the 
event  that  the  dead’ rose  not,  their  baptism  was  shown  to  be 
a  vain  and  meaningless  pretense. 

In  conclusion  of  the  whole,  sin  is  the  cause  of  death,  and 
Christ  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  The  cause 
being  put  away,  must  secure  the  discontinuance  of  the  effect. 
Sin  being  put  away,  death  is  destroyed,  and  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  must  follow.  The  evidence  given  of  Christ  hav¬ 
ing  put  away  sin  was  by  his  personal  resurrection.  As  he 
arose  the  first  begotten  from  the  dead,  and  the  first  ripe 
fruits  of  them  that  slept,  so  all  for  whom  Christ  died  and 
rose  again  must  in  like  manner  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and 
receive  that  resurrection  of  life  and  immortality  in  the  risen 
body  of  Jesus  their  Redeemer.  Hence  the  declaration,  uO 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  ()  grave,  where  is  thy  victory? 
‘The  sting  of  death  is  sin;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law. 


84 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  givetli  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.*’ 

Finally ,  my  brother,  wrong  premises  always  come  to 
wrong  conclusions.  You  call  all  the  children  of  Adam  the 
children  of  the  flesh.  That  is  not  true,  for  Isaac  and  Ish- 
mael  were  chosen  of  God  as  prototypes.  They  both  had 
bodies  of  flesh,  but  Isaac  was  never  called  a  child  of  the 
flesh,  before  his  birth  nor  after.  Paul  said  to  his  Galatian 
brethren,  “As  Isaac  was,  so  are  we.**  How  was  Isaac  ?  He 
was  born  contrary  to  nature,  to  typify  all  the  heaven-born, 
who  are  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  but 
of  God.  But  Islimael  was  born  of  a  bond-woman,  according 
to  nature,  to  typify  all  the  children  of  the  flesh;  and  not  only 
so,  for  Jacob  and  Esau  typified  the  same  thing. 


Yours  truly, 


Jesse  J.  Gobena 


Ye  saints  that  now  hope  for  glory. 
Come,  join  me,  and  help  me  to  sing 


Sweet  anthems  of  praises  to  Jesus, 

Our  Prophet,  our  Priest,  and  our  King. 


Those  notes  are  so  charming,  melodious, 
They  help  me  most  sweetly  to  sing ; 

If  Jesus  himself  he  the  Leader, 

We’ll  pass  through  the  valley  in  peace. 

When  Jesus  beheld  me  in  nature, 
Pursuing  the  road  down  to  pain, 

He  caused  me  my  sins  to  discover, 

And  cleansed  my  soul  from  the  stain. 


85 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

Then  cheer  up,  ye  conquering  soldiers, 

Death  shortly  will  sound  your  reprieve ; 

Then  all  of  our  arms  will  he  grounded 
At  Jesus’,  our  General’s,  feet. 

Eternity  then  will  he  ringing 
Salvation  to  God  and  the  Lamh  ! 

0  brethren,  I  long  to  he  singing 
With  angels  the  praise  of  his  name. 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


THE  SCRIPTURAL  VIEW  OF  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 

Editor  Review  : — Inasmuch  as  you  have  given  a  col¬ 
umn  of  your  valuable  pajmr  into  the  control  of  the  Woman’s 
Suffrage  Association,  and  inasmuch  as  we  know  ourself  to 
be  a  true  friend  of  the  sex,  and  would  do  nothing  to  hinder 
them  in  their  rights,  or  in  an  elevation  from  the  already  high 
position  in  which  their  Creator  has  placed  them,  we  there¬ 
fore  feel  free  to  make  a  few  remarks,  with  some  suggestions, 
which  we  hope  will  be  received  in  the  same  spirit  in  which 
they  are  given. 

We  view  the  subject  to  be  a  momentous  one,  worthy  the 
deep  consideration  of  an  intelligent  community.  Would  it 
not  be  wisdom,  highly  tempered  with  prudence,  for  the  voting 
population  to  know  whether  the  majority  of  ladies  desire 
such  rights  of  suffrage  ?  If  they  do  not,  would  it  not  be  un¬ 
wise  and  unkind  to  give  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  sex  at 
the  request  of  the  minority  ?  Would  it  not  be  a  stigma  on 
the  sex  ?  We  do  believe  that,  if  the  truth  were  known,  the 


86 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


number  who  are  clamoring  for  the  right  of  suffrage  would 
become  beautifully  small.  It  is  just  as  apparent  as  the  sun 
at  noonday  that  there  is  a  class  of  women  who,  like  their 
mother  Eve,  are  dissatisfied  with  the  condition  in  which  they 
have  been  placed  by  the  God  who  created  them.  When  will 
mortals  duly  consider  the  fact  that  they  are  entitled  to  no 

advanced  position  from  the  order  in  which  they  were  ere- 

• 

ated  ?  To  show  the  first  standing  of  male  and  female  we 
have  only  to  resort  to  the  order  of  creation.  When  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  were  created,  with  all  the  host  of  themr 
there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground ;  so  the  Lord  God 
formed  man,  and  breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life,  and 
man  became  a  living  soul.’  The  Lord  had  planted  a  garden,, 
with  trees  beautiful  to  the  sight;  also  were  planted  those 
which  bore  fruit  pleasant  to  the  taste;  also  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  He  then  put  man  in  the  gar¬ 
den,  commanding  him  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it.  He  also 
gave  man  free  access  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  all  the  trees  in  the 
garden  except  that  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  know¬ 
ing  that  in  the  day  he  ate  of  the  forbidden  tree  death  would 
be  the  penalty  of  his  disobedience.  As  yet  there  was  no 
woman;  and  to  the  man  was  given  the  right  to  name  all  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  all  things  were  put  under  his  feet — all 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  whatsoever 
followed  the  paths  through  the  sea.  Still  there  was  no 
woman;  but  the  Lord  saw  that  it  was  not  good  for  man  to 
be  alone,  and  he  made  him  a  helpmate.  The  part  of  man 
which  was  taken  to  form  woman  was  not  from  his  head  nor 
from  his  feet;  which  teaches  us  that  she  should  not  attempt 
to  rule  man,  and  that  man  must  not  tread  woman  under  foot. 
A  rib  was  taken  out  of  man’s  side,  under  his  arm,  near  liis 


87 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

heart,  to  show  that  woman  is  to  be  by  her  husband’s  side, 
under  the  arm  of  his  protection,  near  the  heart  of  his  love. 
Hence  the  order  of  creation  shows  that  woman  was  to  be  in 
some  degree  subordinate  to  man,  she  being  of  him,  and  all 
rule  and  control  being  given  him  in  her  absence,  she  receiv¬ 
ing  the  law  second-handed,  from  her  husband,  and  not  di¬ 
rectly.  The  happy  pair  did  not  long  continue  in  the  garden, 
for  there  came  a  tempter,  and  the  woman  was  seduced,  and 
ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  This  is  the  first  case  of  woman 
suffrage,  and  she  was  doubtless  very  persuasive  with  tongue 
and  officious  with  her  hands;  for  she  persuaded  her  hus¬ 
band,  and  he  also  did  eat.  To  hear  the  voice  of  a  wife  as  a 
counsellor  is  becoming  in  a  husband ;  but  to  be  induced  by 
her  to  transgress  the  law  of  the  Most  High  is  the  first  im¬ 
prudence  Adam  is  charged  with.  Gold  may  be  bought  too 
dear.  It  is  wisdom  in  creatures  to  live  ignorant  of  those 
things  which  can  be  known  only  by  transgression.  But  now 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  commences  the  trial.  Although 
the  woman  was  first  in  the  transgression,  man  was  first 
called  to  account.  Why  ?  Because  the  law,  with  the  right 
to  rule,  had  been  given  to  him.  Hence.the  inquiry,  “Adam, 
where  art  thou  V ?  Adam  proceeds  to  excuse  himself  by  lay¬ 
ing  the  blame  on  Eve,  and  strongly  infers  that  God  was  to 
blame  in  giving  him  the  woman.  Here  Adam  makes  use  of 
nineteen  words,  instead  of  saying  “Yes.”  Fifteen  of  them 
are  used  as  an  apology,  and  four  as  a  confession ;  hence  long 
apologies  and  short  confessions  have  prevailed  among  men 
ever  since.  Next  the  Judge  proceeds  to  examine  the  woman, 
and  she  lays  the  blame  on  the  serpent.  Now  the  trial  is 
over,  and  the  Judge  proceeds  to  pass  sentence  on  the  trans¬ 
gressors  in  order,  according  to  their  crimes.  In  transgres- 


ss 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’s  WRITINGS. 


sion  the  devil  was  first,  next  the  woman,  and  .last  the  man. 
When  sentence  was  passed  on  the  serpent,  the  contemptible, 
intruding  devil  had  to  stand  and  take  it,  having  no  one  on 
whom  to  lay  the  blame.  So  it  follows,  “  Cursed  art  thou 
above  all  cattle r  (meaning  such  as  are  tame),  “and  above 
all  the  beasts  of  the  field,*'  meaning  such  as  are  wild,  roam¬ 
ing  over  the  hills  and  mountains,  never  to  assist  man  or  to 
be  assisted  by  man,  ever  to  be  held  in  contempt,  and  evil 
spoken  of;  so  that  those  who  weary  themselves  in  his  ser¬ 
vice  are  x>rone  to  call  every  disagreeable  thing  which  per¬ 
plexes  them  by  his  name.  Aow  comes  the  sentence  of  the 
woman,  Saying,  “  Thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he 
shall  rule  over  tliee.*'  As  Eve  was  first  in  transgression, 
and  a  tempter  to  Adam,  she  and  all  her  sex  are  reduced  to 
the  subjugation  of  obeying  their  husbands,  instead  of  con¬ 
trolling  them.  Eulers  address  their  subjects  by  command ; 
but  subjects  address  their  rulers  by  desire,  in  a  supplicating 
manner.  Here  we  see  the  subjection  of  woman  is  much  in¬ 
creased.  By  trying  to  climb  higher,  she  fell  much  lower. 
Xext  comes  the  man ;  and  to  Adam  he  said,  “  Because  thou 
hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  commanded  thee,  saying, 
Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ; 
in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life;  thorns 
also  and  thistles  shall  ii  bring  forth  to  thee ;  and  thou  shalt 
eat  the  herb  of  the  field :  in  the  sweat  of  thv  face  shalt  thou 
eat  bread,  till  thou  return, unto  the  ground;  for  out  of  it 
wast  thou  taken :  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt 
thou  return. **  Let  men  live  where  they  will,  follow  whatever 
calling  they  may,  afflictions  and  sorrows  attend  them  all  the 
da  vs  of  their  lives.  From  this  we  may  see  that  when  crea- 
tures  imagine  thev  have  the  right  to  transcend  the  wisdom 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


89 


of  tlie  Creator,  and  thus  better  their  condition,  they  will  find 
that  shame,  guilty  fear  and  nakedness  are  the  reward  of 
their  labor. 

Jesse  J,  Goben. 


THE  BIBLE. 

The  Bible  contains  GO  books,  1,189  chapters,  and  31,114 
verses.  The  name  Lord  is  found  G,062  times  in  the  Old 
Testament  :  the  name  God  2,725  times.  The  name  Jesus 
occurs  925  times  in  the  Xew  Testament ;  the  name  Christ  555 
times.  The  word  Selali  is  found  74  times  in  the  Bible  ;  the 
word  eternity  in  only  one  place — Isaiah  lvii.  15.  The  Bible 
is  divided  into  six  parts,  as  follows  :  First,  the  law  of  Hoses, 
beginning  with  Genesis  and  ending  with  Deuteronomy. 
Second,  the  history  of  the  Jews,  beginning  with  Joshua  and 
ending  with  Esther.  Third,  a  book  of  poems,  beginning  with 
Job  and  ending  with  Solomon’s  Song.  Fourth,  the  proplie-- 
cies  of  sixteen  prophets,  beginning  with  Isaiah  and  ending 
with  Malachi.  Fifth,  the  evangelical  part,  containing  the 
history  of  Christ  and  the  apostles.  Sixth,  the  epistolary 
writings  of  Paul,  Peter,  James,  Jude  and  John,  together 
with  the  book  of  Bevelation.  Hence  the  Bible  is  in  its  parts 
historical,  poetical,  allegorical,  prophetical,  receptive  and 
promissory.  Hence  it  carries  on  the  face  of  it  the  merit  of 
being  a  revelation  from  God  to  man.  Of  revelation  there 
are  two  kinds,  oral  and  written.  Oral  revelation  was  first. 
In  this  God  revealed  his  will  unto  men  before  letters  came 


90 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


into  use.  After  letters  came  into  use  the  Almighty  directed 
the  hands  of  men  to  write  down  those  revelations  of  his  will 
which  he  made  known  unto  them  j  and  such  writings  are 
called  written  revelations.  The  Bible  was  more  than  sixteen 
hundred  years  in  writing.  It  contains  a  history  of  the 
world’s  whole  age,  partly  in  narrative  and  partly  in  pro¬ 
phecy.  Moreover,  it  tells  us  of  some  things  that  took  place 
before  the  world  was,  and  some  things  that  will  be  when 
God  is  done  with  the  world.  Hence  it  is  written  in  a  style 
that  no  man  on  earth  can  imitate,  which  will  forever  keep  it 
from  being  incorporated  with  human  compositions.  The 
double  asseveration,  verily,  verily,  is  found  25  times  in  John’s 
gospel,  and  nowhere  else.  The  words  Lord  God  are  not 
found  in  either,  nor  in  Solomon’s  Song.  Likewise  the  names 
Jesus  Christ  are  not  in  the  three  epistles  of  John.  The  word 
baptism,  with  its  relatives,  is  found  100  times  in  the  Xew 
Testament. 

Amongst  the  many  thousands  that  lived  before  the  flood 
we  only  have  27  personal  names,  to  wit,  Adam,  Eve  his  wife, 
Abel,  Cain,  and  eleven  of  his  offspring,  Seth,  and  eleven  of* 
his  offspring,  which  make  the  27.  Of  the  above  we  have 
handed  down  to  us  one  martyr,  one  murderer,  one  manslayer, 
one  prophet,  one  preacher,  and  one  polygamist.  “And  La- 
mech  said  unto  his  wives,  Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice ; 
ye  wires  of  Lamecli,  hearken  unto  my  speech;  for  I  have 
slain  a  man  to  my  wounding,  and  a  young  man  to  my  hurt. 
If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven  fold,  truly  Lamecli  seventy 
and  seven  fold.” — Genesis  iv.  23,  21.  Of  the  above,  seven 
lived  more  than  900  years. 

t 


Jesse  J.  Gobex. 


A  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 


THAT  IS,  HOW  MEN  ARE  CALLED  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 


First,  the  call  to  the  ministry  does  not  depend  upon  the 
brilliancy  of  natural  talents.  The  mysteries  of  the  gospel 
are  hidden  from  the  wise  and  prudent.  The  world  by  wis¬ 
dom  knows  not  God.  Natural  talents  furnish  men  for  use- 

• 

fulness  in  the  things  of  this  world,  but  do  not  qualify  them 
for  gospel  ministers.  Nor  does  it  depend  on  seminaries  of 
learning.  By  some  the  youth  is  sent  to  school  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  preparing  him  for  the  ministry ;  as  if  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  were  but  the  declension  of  nouns  or 
the  conjugation  of  verbs,  with  a  little  knowledge  of  the  dead 
languages.  Suppose,  however,  they  equal  or  excel  any  of 
the  great  men  in  learning ;  they  are  only  prepared  for  worldly 
pursuits.  Amos  was  a  rustic  herdsman,  yet  some  of  his 
trophies  were  higher  than  the  heavens.  John  the  Baptist 
was  brought  up  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  apostles  for  the 
most  part  were  ignorant  Galileans,  who  followed  the  trade 
of  fishing ;  yet  these  were  called  by  God,  while  the  learned 
among  them  were  neglected.  This  call  is  not  included  in  a 
gracious  call  out  of  darkness  into  the  marvelous  light  of  the 
gospel.  This  call  is  experienced  by. all  the  saints,  but  all  the 
saints  are  not  preachers.  Neither  is  the  call  subservient  to 
the  will  or  choice  of  men.  Where  preaching  is  a  lucrative 
business,  the  greedy  may  choose  it;  where  it  is  honorable, 
the  proud  may  desire  it;  where  it  is  attended  with  ease,  the 


92 


JESSE  J.  G-OBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

lazy  may  covet  it ;  bat  all  these  are  ignorant  of  it.  It  is  a 
miracle  only  to  him  that  is  called.  It  is  true  that  miracles 
have  sometimes  attended  the  commission,  as  in  tlie  cases  of 
Moses,  Jeremiah  and  Paul;  but  the  gifts  to  the  twelve  and 

t 

to  the  seventy  were  not  by  miracle,  which  proves  that  mira¬ 
cles  are  not  essential  to  the  call.  If  the  call  were  by  miracle 
all  the  time,  we  should  have  as  good  reason  to  believe  that 
God  would  call  infants  or  dumb  men  as  any  others ;  but  this 
we  know  is  not  true.  The  call  is  by  special  mission.  Men 
who  have  the  common  use  of  their  senses,  who  are  delivered 

from  darkness,  and  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Son 
• 

of  God,  receive  a  special  gift  to  qualify  them  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  When  Christ  ascended  on  high  he  received 
gifts  for  men ;  and  these  gifts  he  bestowed  on  them.  He 
gives  to  some  apostles,  to  others  prophets,  evangelists,  pas¬ 
tors  and  teachers,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  This  spir¬ 
itual  gift  includes  two  things :  first,  the  preparation  of  the 
mind :  and  secondly,  a  constraint  to  improve. 


|  The  foregoing  is  what  Elder  Goben  wrote  in  his  books ; 
but  the  following  letter  is  requested  by  many  brethren  to  be 
connected  with  his  writings.  A  difficulty  occurred  in  Sugar 
Creek  Church,  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  on  account  of 
some  points  of  doctrine  and  points  of  order,  and  the  two 
factions  split.  It  was  taken  to  Court,  and  the  Judge  decided 
it,  as  Elder  Goben  believed,  contrary  to  the  order  of  the 
Baptists,  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Christ  ;  and  he  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  the  Judge,  which  is  herein  connected 
with  his  writings,  viz.:] 


Judge  Thomas — Dear  Sir: — I  have  had  much  deep, 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN?S  WRITINGS. 


93 


unpleasant  reflection,  mingled  with  sorrow,  in  regard  to  your 
decision  in  tlie  Old  School  Baptist  troubles;  and  as  I  firmly 
believe  that  you  are  not  apprised  of  the  great  injustice  of 
your  decision,  I  therefore  have  felt  deeply  impressed  to  set 
forth  in  order  the  points  in  which  the  great  wrong  exists. 
First,  I  wish  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  no  unkind  words  to 
say  to  you,  but  merely  an  explanation,  ^ow  to  the  point. 

First.  Every  deliberative  body,  whether  Church  or  State, 
is  organized  under  a  Constitution,  which  is  the  umpire  of 
their  faith ;  hence  they  have  the  right  to  form  Rules  of  De¬ 
corum,  or  laws,  to  govern  them  under  said  Constitution.  In 
that  Decorum  there  must  be  a  majority  rule,  or  else  they 
cannot  do  business  to  any  extent.  Question :  Does  that 
majority  rule  exist  independent  of  the  Constitution,  or  does 

i 

it  not  grow  out  of  the  Constitution  ?  If  it  does,  did  not  the 
majority  secede,  and  thereby  forfeit  all  right  to  the  organ¬ 
ization  ?  Moreover;  was  it  not  drawn  out  of  Elder  Suthard, 
in  the  cross-examination,  that  he  and  Milton  Clark  got  up 
an  instrument  of  writing  that  caused  the  division,  and  that 
^he  (Suthard)  would  not  have  joined  the  church  if  the  divi¬ 
sion  had  not  taken  place  ?  Did  he  not  further  state  that  the 
same  doctrine  had  been  preached  in  the  church  for  twenty 
years,  evidencing  that  what  he  (Suthard)  introduced  was 
something  new,  and  so  changed  the  faith  that  lie  could  be¬ 
come  a  member?  Moreover,  was  it  not  proven  before  Your 
Honor  that  said  Defendants  appointed  a  meeting  at  an  un¬ 
usual  time,  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  Plaintiffs, 
and  went  on  to  exclude  members  without  telling  them  what 
their  crime  was  ?  Is  this  not  more  despotic  than  the  dark 
ages?  Even  Ctesar  of  Rome  would  have  the  accusers  and 
accused  brought  face  to  face,  that  they  might  plead  and  be 


JESSE  J.  G OBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


94 


impleaded.  Yot  only  so,  but  was  it  not  proven  before  Your 
Honor  that  said  Defendants  elected  their  Trustees  under 
another  name,  showing  a  new  order  of  things — that  they  did 
not  like  the  old  name  l  One  of  the  strong  points  on  which 
you  founded  your  judgment  was  church  independence;  that 
is,  each  local  body  is  independent  of  all  the  others.  It  is 
true  there  was  some  conflicting  testimony  before  Your  Honor, 
but  let  us  appeal  to  the  standard  that  all  profess  to  be  gov¬ 


erned  bv.  “But  now  are  thev  many  members,  yet  but  one 
bodv.  And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  I  have  no 
need  of  theef* — 1  Cor.  xii.  20,  21 .  If  you  will  read  the  chap¬ 
ter  through  you  will  see  that  the  church  is  typified  by  the 
human  body,  with  all  its  members,  showing  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  independence. 

The  next  point  on  which  your  judgment  was  based  was 
that  councils  were  only  advisory ;  and  on  this  point  also 
there  was  much  conflicting  testimony.  Four  witnesses  testi¬ 
fied  for  the  Plaintiffs  that  councils  of  the  same  faith  and 
order  of  Predestinarian  Baptists  were  conclusive,  from  which 
there  never  had  been  any  appeal ;  and  two  witnesses  testi¬ 
fied  for  the  Defendants  to  the  reverse.  Who  were  those  two 
witnesses  l  Were  it  proven  before  Your  Honor  that  those 
two  were  convicts,  men  blackened  with  crime,  should  not  the 

credibility  of  witnesses  always  be  taken  into  consideration  ? 
• 

These  were  trees  “whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice 
dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots.'1 — Jude  12.  There  was  much 
said  in  the  trial  and  argument  of  the  case  about  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  churches,  and  we  may  infer  from  the  position 
taken  by  some  that  they  regard  the  churches  free  and  inde¬ 
pendent  of  each  other,  having  an  unlimited  right  to  do  as 
they  please,  without  regard  to  the  judgment  and  concurrence 


95 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 

of  sister  churches  or  aggrieved  brethren :  and  they  regard  it 
as  an  infringement  of  their  independence  for  any  to  question 
the  validity  of  any  of  tlieir  proceedings.  But  to  our  under¬ 
standing  the  saints  of  God,  whether  considered  individually 
or  collectively,  are  the  most  dependent  upon  God  for  every¬ 
thing;  and  not  only  so,  but  by  his  wisdom  and  grace  are 
they  so  peculiarly  organized  as  to  be  dependent  on  one  an¬ 
other,  so  much  so  that  no  one  member  can  be  independent  of 
any  or  all  the  members  belonging  to  the  body  of  Christ. 
u  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all 
the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are  one  body : 
so  also  is  Christ.  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into 
one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be 
bond  or  free;  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one 
Spirit.  For  the  body  is  not  one  member,  but  many.  If  the 
foot  shall  say,  Because  I  am  not  the  hand.  I  am  not  of  the 
body  ;  is  it  therefore  not  of  the  body '?  And  if  the  ear  shall 
say,  Because  I  am  not  the  eye,  I  am  not  of  the  body :  is  it 
therefore  not  of  the  body  ?r — 1  Cor.  xii.  12-10.  Can  the  ear 
perform  the  office  of  the  eye?  Or  is  the  hand  independent 
of  the  foot  ?  Are  not  all  the  members  dependent  one  upon 
another  ?  How  vain  then  it  is  to  talk  of  the  independence 
of  individually  organized  churches  !  Hence  in  the  structure 
and  organization  of  our  natural  bodies  the  head,  the  heart, 
the  hands  and  feet,  and  every  member,  however  small,  is 
indispensable  to  make  the  body  perfect.  Even  so  is  the 
body  of  Christ;  there  is  a  mutual  dependence  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  one  with  another.  The  eye,  however  necessary  to  see 
for  the  whole  body,  vet  it  cannot  masticate  our  food  and 
prepare  it  for  the  stomach.  While  the  ear  can  do  the  hear¬ 
ing  for  all  the  other  members  of  the  body,  it  could  not  hear 


96 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


anything  if  it  were  cut  off  from  the  body.  And  all  the  other 
members — there  must  be  a  harmony  in  the  body.  The  tray- 
eling  members  cannot  go  one  way  and  the  body  another. 
Hence  we  learn  from  Holy  Writ  that  the  Lord  has  set  the 
members  in  the  body  as  it  has  pleased  him  ;  and  to  disregard 
the  order  of  heaven  is  the  destruction  of  our  own  peace. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  a  clear  understanding  of  the  relation¬ 
ship  of  churches  of  the  same  faith  and  order,  or  brethren  of 
the  one  church,  which  is  the  body  of  Christ,  which  they  bear 
to  each  other;  and  what  obligations  that  relationship  in¬ 
volves  is  sometimes  but  too  faintly  felt  bv  those  who  sin- 
cerely  desire  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.  If  all  the  local  branches  of  the  church  bear  the  same 
relationship  to  each  other  as  so  many  members  of  one  body, 
and  they  then  be  so  independent  of  each  other  as  that  they 
may  disregard  the  concurrent  judgment  of  their  fellow-mem¬ 
bers  in  their  proceedings,  are  not  the  commandments  given 
to  all,  to  be  of  one  mind,  and  of  the  same  judgment,  and  to 
endeavor  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace, 
and  follow  the  things  that  make  for  peace,  and  the  things 
whereby  one  may  edify  another,  as  binding  upon  all  the 
branches  of  the  church  as  upon  individual  members  of  any 
one  branch  ?  We  think  it  ought  to  be  readily  admitted  that 
the  whole  church  of  God  in  all  her  branches — the  entire  body 
of  Christ  in  all  its  members,  is  under  the  one  and  the  same 
law  of  Christ ;  and  what  that  law  says  to  one  it  says  to  all, 
commanding  all,  both  individually  and  collectively,  to  watch 
and  be  sober,  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  Christ  has 
commanded.  If  all  the  members  of  a  body  are  supplied  with 
the  same  vital  blood  which  flows  from  the  same  heart — if  all 
are  animated  bv  the  same  vitality,  how  then  can  they  be 


JESSE  J.  GOBEN’S  WRITINGS. 


97 


independent  of  each  other,  or  say  to  any  part  of  the  body, 
We  have  no  need  of  thee?  The  interest  is  identical ;  and 
what  concerns  one  branch  or  one  member  concerns  all.  This 
position  cannot  be  controverted  by  the  word  of  God  agd  the 
experience  of  the  church  in  all  her  history.  It  is  clearly 
proven  that  the  relationship  of  sister  churches  cannot  be 
sustained  if  any  of  the  churches  declare  independence  of  the 
others.  How  can  two  walk  together  except  they  be  agreed  ? 

Yours, 

Jesse  J.  Goben. 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE’S  LETTER. 

The  last  of  Elder  Goben’s  own  writings,  on  page  92, 
ending  with  the  word  u  improve,”  we  feel  to  emphasize  on  it, 
and  u  improve”  our  time  opiiortunities  and  our  enjoyments 
as  a  Christian  people  or  body.  As  it  was  our  high  privilege 
to  visit  our  dear  old  brother  in  his  last  days  on  earth,  we 
wish  to  call  the  reader’s  mind  and  attention  to  some  of  his 
thoughts  on  the  subject  of  death  and  its  attendant  changes, 
that  we  must  all  pass  through  in  the  ordeal,  viewing  the 
certainty  of  its  near  approach  with  him.  There  were  a  great 
many  precious  thoughts  on  his  mind  that  he  wished  to  talk 
about,  one  of  which  was  the  slaying  of  the  two  witnesses, 
and  the  time  and  manner  that  the  Scriptures  seemed  then  to 
bear  him  out  in ;  and  he  only  prayed  for  strength  and  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  preach  it  as  he  then  saw  it.  His  mind  was  so  far 


08 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE'S  LETTER. 


superior  to  his  strength  that  I  could  out  hope  there  was  yet 
a  work  for  him  to  do,  and  so  stated  to  him.  His  reply  was 
that  if  God  in  his  providence  gave  him  permission  he  would 
surety  do  it,  and  with  a  feeling  and  views  that  he  had  never 
felt  before.  He  spoke  freely  of  the  troubled  state  of  Zion, 
and  the  spirit  manifested  in  some  to  cultivate  strife  rather 
than  good  feeling;  when  the  good  name  and  enjoyments  of 
the  churches  and  brotherhood  generally  were  disregarded  by 
designing  ones,  and  strife  and  division  would  spring  up 
where  love,  peace,  fellowship  and  enjoyment  of  the  blessings 
of  God  our  Savior  should  reign  in  every  heart.  We  illus¬ 
trated  to  his  seemingly  full  satisfaction  the  prophet’s  lan¬ 
guage,  saying,  “A  garden  inclosed  is  my  sister,  my  spouse; 
a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain  sealed."  The  special  effort  of 
every  heaven-born  child  of  God  should  reach  out  to  preserve 
the  good  name  of  the  church  of  his  blessed  Master,  together 
with  each  individual  member  of  it,  as  we  should  to  preserve 
and  maintain  the  good  name  of  our  companions  and  sisters. 
The  very  thought  carries  with  it  that  none  but  a  designing 
evil  doer  would  willingly  consent  or  allow  such  to  be  the  case, 
when  it  is  possible  by  voice  or  vote  to  prevent  its  occurrence. 
This  brought  us  to  speak  of  a  great  number  that  stood  aloof 
from,  the  church  who  have  tasted  the  Lord  to  be  gracious, 
standing  without,  deprived  of  voice  or  vote,  and  yet  hoping 
and  praying  for  peace  in  the  churches;  while  their  numbers, 
together  with  their  voice  and  vote,  would  rule  for  peace, 
brotherly  love,  and  all  else  that  tends  to  the  blessed  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  the  saints  on  earth.  While  the  door  of  the  church 
is  being  opened,  and  they  fail  to  embrace  the  opportunity, 
they  still  suffer  all  the  attendant  evils  that  follow,  and  the 
church  as  a  body  suffers,  and  is  deprived  of  the  blessed  en- 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE’S  LETTER.  99 

joyment  of  hearing  them  relate  their  experience,  and  of  the 
strength  in  numbers  and  spiritual  food  derived  from  such  an 
occasion.  The  brother  remarked,  u  I  have  often  said  in  my 
exhortations,  Stay  away  as  long  as  you  can,  and  you  will 
come  in  the  Lord’s  own  good  time ;  but  now  I  would  greatly 
qualify  those  words,  and  say,  As  long  as  you  can  stay  away 
satisfied.  For  in  my  judgment  a  child  born  of  the  Spirit  of 
his  blessed  Lord  is  never  satisfied  until  he  tells  it  to  the 
church,  and  is  admitted  to  full  fellowship  in  the  church;  for 
it  is  obedience  that  we  owe  our  Lord  and  Master,  and  not 
.sacrifice.  How  awkward  would  it  appear  for  us  to  counsel 
a  child  in  nature  not  to  obey  his  parent  as  long  as  he  could 
put  it  off.  Our  Savior  in  his  parables  says  that  his  kingdom 
is  like  this  or  that  earthly  thing,  in  the  sense  that  he  is 
speaking  of  it ;  and  Paul  takes  the  matter  up  and  goes  still 
further  back,  saying,  4  The  invisible  things  of  him  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  God¬ 
head  ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse.’  Xo  excuse  to  be 
offered.  Having  all  nature  before  us,  and  from  that  to  the 
volume  of  the  book,  we  are  commanded  to  study  them,  to 
show  ourselves  approved  unto  God.  Xot  to  study  that  God 
may  approve  your  brother’s  acts,  but  your  own.  When  all 
of  us  do  and  live  to  that  admonition  or  command,  we  con¬ 
clude  that  our  strife  while  in  the  fiesh  would  fade  away,  and 
be  superseded  by  good  feelings,  brotherly  love,  and  a  long¬ 
ing  desire  to  meet  each  other  while  we  remain  in  the  flesh, 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  we  too  will  be  called  away 
from  earth  to  meet  our  blessed  Lord,  and  be  like  him  there, 
as  our  walk  and  conduct  should  imitate  his  meek  and  lowly 
walk  while  he  sojourned  on  earth,  in  all  meekness,  long- 


100 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE’S  LETTER. 


suffering,  forbearing  one  another  in  love,  and  esteeming  each 
other  better  than  ourselves.  Against  such  number  and  con¬ 
duct  there  is  no  law  to  condemn.”  In  view  of  the  blessed 
thought  of  the  things  that  God  has  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him,  and  the  near  approach  of  the  dear  brother,  as  well 
as  ourselves,  to  death’s  door,  we  feel  constrained,  with  the 
poet,  to  say, 

“  Our  souls  full  of  glory  inspiring  our  tongue, 

Could  we  meet  with  angels  we’d  sing  them  a  song ; 

We’d  sing  of  our  Jesus,  and  tell  of  his  charms, 

And  beg  them  to  hear  us  to  his  loving  arms. 

“We  hope  they’re  descending  to  hear  while  we  sing, 

Well  pleased  to  hear  mortals  praising  their  King; 

Bright  angels  may  whisper  so  sweet  in  our  ear, 

Away  from  you  heaven  and  Jesus,  my  dear. 

“  0  Jesus  !  0  Jesus  !  thou  balm  of  my  soul ! 

’Twas  thee,  my  dear  Jesus,  that  made  my  heart  whole  ! 

Our  last  lovely  morning,  so  promising  fair, 

Is  fast  on  us  fleeting,  and  soon  will  appear. 

“And  when  that  bright  morning  in  splendor  shall  dawn. 

Our  tears  shall  be  ended,  our  sorrows  all  gone  ; 

The  Bridegroom  from  glory  to  earth  shall  descend, 

Ten  thousand  bright  angels  around  him  attend. 

“Our  graA^es  shall  be  opened,  the  dead  shall  arise, 

And  with  the  Redeemer  mount  up  to  the  skies ; 

The  saints  then  immortal  in  glory  shall  reign, 

The  bride  with  the  Bridegroom  forever  remain. 

“The  seals  being  opened,  the  trumpet  shall  sound, 

To  awake  God’s  dear  children  that  sleep  under  ground ; 

Their  souls  and  their  bodies  Avill  then  join  in  one, 

And  each  from  their  Savior  receive  a  bright  crown.” 

So  let  our  prayers  be  ever  for  the  welfare  of  Zion,  waiting  in 


101 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE’S  LETTER. 

that  sweet  anticipation  for  the  blessed  hope  in  all  things 
that  reaches  beyond  the  grave,  contending  for  nothing  but 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  that  tends  for  peace  among 
the  brethren ;  knowing  full  well  that  everything  to  the  con¬ 
trary,  and  to  the  detriment  of  the  welfare  of  Christ  and  his 
church  or  kingdom,  comes  of  the  evil  one,  and  is  simply 
doing  his  will  or  wish,  instead  of  obeying  our  blessed  Master. 
He  tells  us  plainly,  u  To  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants 
to  obey,  his  servants  ye  are.”  And  should  we,  claiming  to 
be  servants  of  Christ,  hinder  reconciliation  by  word  or  act, 
we  are  doing  the  works  of  the  wicked  one,  which  is  a  con¬ 
tradiction  of  terms,  and  are  crucifying  the  Lord  afresh,  and 
putting  him  to  an  open  shame.  While  there  is  a  seeming 
difference  on  some  jmints,  let  us  bear  with  one  another  in 
love ;  for  if  we  were  required  to  see  eye  to  eye  in  all  points, 
there  would  be  but  few  in  any  one  church.  So  let  us  rather 
rejoice  that  others  can  see  further  than  ourselves,  and  go  on 
our  way  rejoicing,  remembering  our  enjoyments  in  years 
gone  by,  and  live  hoping  that  the  time  may  speedily  come 
when  we  all  can  say  to  our  brethren  and  sisters, 

“  Remember  our  fathers,  for  when  we  were  young 

[In  the  Spirit] 

Who  loved  us  more  fondly  than  they 

[As  children  of  God]  f 

They  caught  the  first  accents  that  fell  from  our  tongue 

[From  our  experience], 

And  smiled  at  our  innocent  glee 

[Rejoicing  in  our  Savior]. 

“  Remember  our  fathers,  for  now  they  are  old 

[In  the  service  of  our  God], 

Their  locks  intermingled  with  gray 

[Still  in  the  service] ; 


102 


WILLIS  E.  MOORE'S  LETTER. 


Their  footsteps  are  feeble,  once  fearless  and  bold 

[In  the  cause  of  Christ], 

Our  fathers  are  passing  away 

[In  a  literal  sense  have  passed  away].” 

In  view  of  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses  for  blessing  and 
enjoyment  when  peace  reigns,  and  nothing  but  trouble  and^ 
turmoil,  confusion  and  strife,  when  busy  ones  have  the  as¬ 
cendency,  let  us  strive  to  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin 
that  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  run  with  patience  the  race 
set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  who  is  the  Author  of  our 
faith. 

Yours  in  hope  of  eternal  life, 

Willis  E.  Mooee. 


WILLIAM  H.  DARNALL’S  LETTER, 

Dear  Brethren  and  Sisters  in  the  Lord: — As 
Elder  Jesse  J.  Goben  had  commenced  and  continued  to  write 
a  synopsis  of  his  life,  and  more  especially  of  his  religious 
life,  until  he  was  taken  sick  and  rendered  unable  to  write 
more,  and  as  brother  Willis  E.  Moore,  having  had  very  con¬ 
siderable  talk  with  Elder  Goben  while  he  was  on  his  death¬ 
bed,  has  given  his  statement  of  the  many  things  that  he  and 
brother  Goben  talked  about  up  to  his  death,  we  will  bring 
the  history  to  a  close  in  as  short  a  way  as  we  can. 

Elder  J.  J.  Goben  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Ken- 
tucky,  December  17th,  1808.  When  he  was  about  twentv- 
one  years  old  he  came  to  Indiana  and  entered  eighty  acres  of 


WILLIAM  H.  DARNALL?S  LETTER. 


103 


land,  about  seven  miles  east  of  Crawfordsville,  and  partly 
built  a  cabin  on  it.  He  then  went  back  to  Kentucky  and 
married  Miss  Arminta  Plunket,  on  the  8th  day  of  December, 
1827,  and  started  to  Indiana  on  the  11th,  three  days  after 
they  were  married.  Having  but  one  horse,  he  put  his  wife 
and  what  little  plunder  he  had  on  the  horse,  himself  walking 
the  whole  route,  having  to  contend  with  many  dangers  of 
high  waters  and  snow  storms  on  their  trip,  being  detained 
sometimes  by  high  waters  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time. 
His  wife  had  joined  the  Baptist  Church  in  Kentucky  before 
they  were  married ;  but  he,  not  knowing  or  caring  much 
about  religion,  started  out  in  the  world  to  make  a  living  lor 
liis  family,  and  worked  very  hard.  In  a  few  years  thereafter 
he  became  very  much  troubled  in  spirit  about  his  condition, 
which  lasted  for  several  months,  and  his  burden  became  so 
great  that  he  thought  he  was  the  greatest  sinner  in  the 
world;  but  at  an  unexpected  time  the  glorious  light  of  the 
gospel  shone  in  his  heart,  which  caused  him  to  rejoice  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  Some 
time  after  this  he  joined  the  Baptist  Church  at  Smartsburgh 
(called  Walnut  Creek),  in  this  county,  and  his  membership 
continued  there  until  his  death.  After  joining  the  church 
his  mind  became  exercised  on  his  duty  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  and  for  months  he  could  have  no  rest  day  nor  night. 

Sometimes,  when  he  would  be  at  his  work,  his  mind  would 

% 

become  so  strongly  exercised  that  he  would  leave  his  work 
and  start  through  the  woods  preaching  with  all  the  power  of 
his  mind,  and  some  of  his  neighbors,  hearing  him,  thought 
he  was  crazy ;  but  finally,  after  he  became  a  member  of  the 
church,  he  began  to  exercise  his  gift  in  the  way  of  exhorta¬ 
tion  and  preaching,  to  the  great  comfort  and  satisfaction  of 


104 


WILLIA3I  II.  DAENALL’S  LETTEK. 


liis  brethren  and  sisters  in  the  Lord,  his  gift  being  highly 
appreciated  by  all  who  professed  to  believe  the  Baj)tist  doc¬ 
trine.  He  had  exercised  his  gift  but  a  short  time  until  he 
was  ordained  to  the  full  functions  of  the  gospel  ministry,  by 
a  Presbytery  of  the  several  churches  in  this  part  of  Indiana ; 
and  in  a  few  months  he  was  called  to  take  the  pastoral  care 
of  four  churches.  He  was  very  highly  esteemed  throughout 
the  correspondence,  and  was  for  many  years  Moderator  of 
Sugar  Creek  Association,  and  generally  appointed  as  mes¬ 
senger  to  the  corresponding  Associations,  and  almost  uni¬ 
versally  put  on  the  stand  at  the  corresponding  Associations 
to  preach  on  Sunday.  In  short,  he  was  a  man  that  was  very 
highly  esteemed  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  as  a  brother  in 
the  Lord,  as  a  Moderator  in  church  or  Association,  as  a  citi¬ 
zen,  as  a  husband,  as  a  father,  as  a  neighbor.  In  fact,  he 
had  but  few  equals.  Some  several  months  before  his  death 
he  was  confined  to  his  house  and  bed,  and  hosts  of  friends 
and  brethren  and  sisters  visited  him.  He  alwavs  seemed 

C/ 

glad  to  see  them ;  and  generally,  after  passing  compliments, 
he  would  quote  some  text  of  Scripture  and  commence  i)reacli- 
ing,  trying  to  unfold  some  of  the  beauties  of  God’s  purposes 
and  promises,  often  saying  that  this  was  a  world  of  sorrow, 
suffering,  sickness,  pain  and  death,  but  that  this  was  not  our 
abiding  home ;  that  we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  in  the 
world,  and  when  we  filled  our  mission  here  we  must  pass 
through  the  ordeal  of  death,  and  our  spirit  would  go  to  the 
God  that  gave  it,  and  our  bodies  to  the  cold  and  silent  tomb, 
there  to  remain  until  Jesus  Christ  comes  the  second  time, 
without  sin  unto  salvation,  to  make  up  his  jewels,  and  to 
take  his  ransomed  children  home.  He  often  remarked  to  the 
writer  of  this  that  he  did  not  fear  after  death,  for  he  felt  a 


WILLIAM  H.  DARNALL’S  LETTER. 


105 


full  assurance  of  a  blessed  immortality.  He  often  would  say 
to  me,  u  Brother  Darnall,  I  doif  t  fear  tlie  future ;  it  is  the 
present,  and  the  passing*  through  the  iron  gate,  that  I  fear. 
I  have  had  a  considerable  foretaste  of  what  I  have  yet  to  go 
through.  The  cup  is  a  bitter  one,  but  my  Jesus  can  and  will 
see  me  safely  through.  Then  I  will  be  done  suffering  in  this 
vale  of  tears ;  and  1  have  a  good  hope  in  Jesus  that  when  I 
am  done  suffering  here  I  will  be  at  rest,  and  ultimately  re¬ 
ceive  my  heavenly  inheritance,  and  wear  a  crown  which  Jesus 
will  give  me  in  that  day.” 

Brother  Goben  died  March  15th,  1886,  with  what  the 
doctors  said  was  catarrh  of  the  stomach,  aged  seventy-seven 
years  and  three  months,  lacking  two  days.  His  funeral  was 
preached  March  17th,  188G,  at  Smartsburgh,  by  Elders  James 
S.  Whitlock  and  William  IT.  Darnall,  to  a  large  congrega¬ 
tion.  His  wife  had  died  some  three  or  four  years  before  her 
husband.  They  leave  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  with  many 
personal  friends  and  the  Baptists  in  general,  to  mourn  their 
loss.  The  writer  visited  Elder  Goben  often,  and  had  frequent 
conversations  with  him.  He  often  said  to  me,  UI  do  not  fear 
after  death,  but  I  dread  to  pass  through  the  ordeal.”  He 
also  said  it  was  not  strange  that  he  should  fear  the  suffer¬ 
ings  of  death,  when  Christ  himself  prayed  that  the  cup  might 
pass  from  him.  In  short,  brother  Goben  was  a  good  man  in 
every  sense  of  the  word,  and  I  feel  that  none  will  miss  him 
more  than  myself,  for  he  has  always  been  a  beloved  brother. 
In  fine,  he  was  an  old  pioneer,  an  honest  and  truthful  man, 
a  good  Christian,  and  an  able  minister.  Before  his  death  he 
requested  the  following  song  to  be  sung  at  his  funeral : 

“  Begone,  unbelief !  my  Savior  is  near, 

And  for  my  relief  will  surely  appear; 


106 


WILLIAM  H.  DAENALL’S  LETTEE. 


By  prayer  let  me  wrestle,  and  he  will  perform ; 

With  Christ  in  the  vessel  I  smile  at  the  storm. 

“  Though  dark  be  my  way,  since  he  is  my  Guide 
’Tis  mine  to  obey,  ’tis  his  to  provide ; 

Though  systems  be  broken,  and  creatures  all  fail,. 

The  word  he  has  spoken  shall  surely  prevail. 

“  His  love  in  time  past  forbids  me  to  think 
Hell  leave  me  at  last  in  trouble  to  sink ; 

Each  sweet  Ebenezer  I  have  in  my  view 

Confirms  his  good  pleasure  to  help  me  quite  through.. 

“  Determined  to  save,  he  watched  o'er  my  path 

AVhen  Satan’s  blind  slave  I  sported  with  death ; 

And  can  he  have  taught  me  to  trust  in  his  name, 

And  thus  far  have  brought  me  to  put  me  to  shame  % 

• 

“  Why  should  I  complain  of  want  or  distress, 

Temptation  or  pain  1  He  told  me  no  less. 

The  heirs  of  salvation,  I  know  from  his  word, 

Through  much  tribulation  must  follow  their  Lord.’7 

—Hymn  No.  828,  Wilson  Thompson's  Selection  of  Hymns. 

We  will  now  say  a  few  words  in  conclusion  relative  to 
his  dear  companion,  Arminta  Goben.  She  died  some  three 
or  four  years  before  her  dear  husband.  Her  death  occurred 
on  the  22d  of  September,  1882.  She  was  aged  seventy-one 
years,  five  months  and  eleven  days.  She  had  lived  with  her 
husband  almost  fifty-three  years.  There  were  born  to  them 
fourteen  children,  five  of  whom  were  still  living  at  her  death, 
four  sons  and  one  daughter,  to  mourn  her  loss.  She  joined 
the  Baptist  Church  in  Kentucky  when  she  was  only  sixteen 
years  old,  and  lived  in  the  fellowship  of  that  denomination 
until  her  death ;  and  her  last  request  to  her  husband  was  to 
remember  the  many  sweet  hours  they  had  spent  together. 
She  told  him  to  honor  his  profession  in  the  ministry,  and  to 


WILLIAM  H.  DARN ALL?S  LETTER. 


107 


make  his  home  with  his  daughter  Sallie.  A  little  time  after 
this  she  said,  u  There  have  been  some  of  the  sweetest  words 
passing  through  my  mind  this  morning  that  I  ever  thought 
of.”  She  then  repeated  them,  as  follows : 

“  What  cheering  words  are  these  ! 

Their  sweetness  who  can  tell ! 

In  time  and  in  eternity 
’Tis  with  the  righteous  well. 

“In  every  state  secure, 

Kept  by  Jehovah’s  eye, 

’Tis  well  for  them  while  life  endures, 

And  well  when  call’d  to  die. 

“’Tis well  when  joys  arise, 

’Tis  well  when  sorrows  flow, 

’Tis  well  when  darkness  veils  the  skies, 

And  strong  temptations  blow. 

“’Tis  well  when  on  the  mount 
They  feast  on  saving  love  ; 

And  ’tis  as  well,  in  God’s  account, 

When  they  the  furnace  prove. 

“’Tis  well  when  at  the  throne  . 

They  wrestle,  weep  and  pray ; 

’Tis  well  when  at  his  feet  they  groan, 

Yet  bring  their  wants  away.” 

Sister  Goben  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She 
was  a  kind,  loving  and  affectionate  companion,  a  good  and 
tender-hearted  mother,  a  good  neighbor,  and  above  all  an 
exemplary  Christian,  always  found  in  the  discharge  of  her 
duties,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  encourage  her  husband  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 
While  she  will  be  much  missed  by  her  neighbors  and  friends, 
and  much  more  by  her.  family,  yet  our  loss  is  her  eternal 


108  WILLIAM  H.  DARNALL’S  LETTER. 

gain.  The  funeral  took  place  September  23d, 1882.  Prayer 
at  the  residence  at  half-past  nine  o’clock  a.  in.,  by  Elder 
Joseph  Skeeters,  of  Montezuma ;  after  which  the  corpse  was 
taken  to  the"  Old  Baptist  Church  at  Smartsburgh,  where  a 
discourse  was  delivered  by  Elder  James  S.  Whitlock,  of 
Terre  Haute,  followed  by  some  remarks  by  Elder  William  H. 
Darnall  and  James  Burford.  After  interment  Elder  Skeeters 
made  some  very  appropriate  remarks,  and  then  pronounced 
the  benediction.  As  the  writer  walked  away  from  the  grave 
this  song  struck  his  mind  with  force, 

“Sister,  thou  art  gone  to  rest, 

We  will  not  mourn  for  tliee  ; 

For  thou  art  now  where  oft  on  earth 
Thy  spirit  longed  to  be,7’  Ac. 

In  conclusion  I  will  say  to  my  brethren  and  sisters  in 
the  Lord  that  our  sister  has  departed  from  our  association, 
her  spirit  has  returned  to  that  God  who  gave  it,  and  her 
body  to  the  cold  and  silent  tomb,  and  ere  long  we  must  follow 
her  through  the  ordeal  of  death.  O  may  it  be  our  happy  lot 
to  meet  her  on  the  eternal  shore,  with  all  the  blood-washed 
throng,  to  enjoy  the  peaceful  presence  of  our  blessed  Savior, 
world  without  end. 

To  the  children  of  our  dear  brother  and  sister  Goben  let 
me  say,  though  it  has  been  the  will  of  the  good  Lord  to  take 
them  from  their  suffering  condition  in  this  world,  we  trust 
that  it  is  their  infinite  and  eternal  gain,  though  the  loss  may 
seem  great  to  you.  I  pray  God  that  he  may  be  your  God 
and  Guide  while  you  remain  on  earth.  May  he  by  his  un¬ 
erring  Spirit  reconcile  your  minds  to  his  dispensations,  and 
inspire  you  to  say,  The  Lord  giveth,  and  the  Lord  taketli 
away ;  yet  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.  May  he  save 


WILLIAM  H.  DARNALL’S  LETTER. 


109 


you  all  in  his  kingdom  eternal :  and  that  you  may  all  join  in 
the  general  assembly  of  the  church  of  the  First-born  in 
heaven,  to  sing  his  eternal  praises  forever  and  forever,  is  my 
sincere  prayer. 

William  H.  Darn  all. 


ACKOSTIC  OF  JESSE  J.  GOBEN. 

Jesus,  my  Lord,  eternal  was, 

Eternally  the  same ; 

Salvation  from  his  throne  on  high, 
Salvation’s  in  his  name. 

Enthroned  he  reigns  above, 

Jesus,  the  Father’s  Son  ; 

Gave  up  his  life  in  fervent  love 
Of  every  grace  begun. 

Before  the  Day-star  rose, 

Enthroned  above  the  skies, 

None  but  our  Jesus  could  descend, 

And  from  the  dead  arise. 


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